A Prince To The Rescue
by Princess Shahrazad
Summary: The thief barging in Rapunzel's tower is a prince. A real prince with his own kingdom, legitimate bloodline and all. But this prince has a pretty huge baggage, just like her. How can a prince be a thief? How can a prisoner be a princess? It's complicated!
1. Prince Dandy

**Chapter One: Prince Dandy**

The young man sitting in front of a large elaborately framed mirror has a list of things-to-do ever since he was six when he saw his mother turned to madness and withdrew into one of the castle's towers. He still keeps the list and is repeating the items in his mind as he puts on an elaborate silvery wig onto his dark brown hair, just to keep his sanity intact as he goes through the maddening ritual.

Item Number One: Not get assassinated by his Stepfather/ Uncle/ King Galodius.

Item Number Two: Find the Lost Princess of Corona, his betrothed-since-infancy future bride.

Item Number Three: Take his mother the Queen away from Castle Elinsore and live on an island far away from royal politics and intrigue.

He is twenty-four years old now and he doesn't feel as heroic as he used to be when he was six. A lot of things have changed including the list.

Item Number One remains and that is the very reason why he is having the damn ridiculous wig on his head now and the fact that he is applying eyeliner onto his already heavily powdered eyelids. There is also a fake mole made of toad's wart to be glued to his cheek. He hates every second of this bizarre preening but he has no choice. Not if he wants to remain prince of Elinsore and stay alive.

Item Number Three remains but to do so he has to do extra-curricular activities. He has been doing the never mentioned activities for a few years now and still has not reached the objective he had set for himself. It takes a lot of money to buy an island, not to mention to finance the travel there. As well as the amount needed to finance the kind of intelligence needed to kidnap his own mother the Queen right from under his uncle's nose. Worse, he has found a new calling as Prince of Elinsore. He didn't believe it himself when it happened. But then, his momma told him once, a true prince will always be a prince no matter how he disguises himself not to be a prince. Be it a dandy or a master thief, a true prince will always be a prince. His momma said that he has a 'good core' no matter how he tries to hide it, whatever that means, now that she is too messed up to ever explain anything to him. His momma said that he will always be her hero. And he really doesn't know what to say about that, because right at this moment when he slips his feet into the two-inched heeled shoes, he doesn't know who he really is.

And his heroic notion is surely fading like his memory of his dead father, the real King. He can no longer remember his father's face. That brings him back to the Item Number Two on his list: Find the Lost Prince of Corona, his betrothed. Not even the best intelligence Corona possesses has been able to trace the Lost Princess. When he was six and had received news about his fiancé's kidnapping, he was thrilled to no end with the hope of finding and bringing her back to her parents. But seventeen years have passed and so many things have happened in his life. He is no longer the hero he hoped he would be. Item Number Two is cancelled from the list. That should make things simpler. For all that mattered, the Princess could already be long dead. In the hands of the vengeful and the callous, she could be ravaged by diseases and malnutrition within months of her kidnapping and died.

And today, the King and Queen of Corona are visiting Elinsore, a few days before the Princess' birthday. The grieving royal couple are returning the engagement present brought by his parents to Corona when the Princess was born. The Engagement Crown. The King and Queen of Corona's hope has dwindled to nothing that even the sight of the crown would only bring sorrow to their hearts. Then as a token of sorrow shared, the Kingdom of Elinsore will host the lanterns' release into the night sky before her royal neighbours return to their bleak days in Corona.

He studies himself in the mirror. The mole is already in place. He smiles crookedly because he doesn't feel like smiling. His long coat is made from gold thread and white lace. The ruffles on his neck blooms perfectly. His pants are too tight but he needs the effect. His shoes too tall. His hair too big. He needs one finishing touch. He takes a fan from a drawer under the dresser. The fan's blade is made from ivory and it has mirrors on both ends. A gift from the emperor of a kingdom in the Far East. He flips the fan open and with deft hands, twirls the fan as if it is a sword. He kicks in his bizarre shoes and dances a step or two.

"Let's get this show on the road," he mutters.

The chamberlains knock and he shouts like the spoiled, brainless royalty that he is supposed to be. They open the door and he steps out, like a peacock of the strangest kind, feminine in gesture but at the same time his male aura brimming and gleaming beneath all the layers of powder, perfume and the costume.

The door to the guest's hall opens. A chamberlain announces.

"His Royal Highness Prince Eugene Fitzherbert of Elinsore."

**Author's Note:** Guess what? It's mid-year exam and I'm dawdling in the teacher's lounge waiting for papers to grade but they won't come till the very last day of the exam. The Principal kinda hates the English teachers and pushed the paper till the very end so we'll suffer. But I'm not suffering because this is a perfect excuse for writing another creepy Tangled fic. Ha ha ha (Laughing like a maniac).


	2. Flynnagan Rider, Living Legend

**Chapter Two: Flynnagan Rider, Living Legend**

The hall is filled with sound of applause and awe from the audience - courtesans, dignitaries, royal relatives and government officials. All applaud the presence of the stunningly decked Prince Eugene Fitzherbert of Elinsore. All but two. King Marke and Queen Ygraine of Corona. The two stared at the pasty human peacock in amusement and disbelief. Disappointment is subtly hidden but their eyes said it all. Whatever happened to the mischievous, rough but sensible Prince Eugene they knew back then? Who is this thespian impersonating a prince impersonating a circus freak? The eyes of Corona's royal seem to be projecting their panic thoughts.

"Your Majesties, welcome to Elinsore," Prince Eugene shakes King Marke's hand and kisses Queen Ygraine's.

"Eugene, you have changed – a lot," King Marke remarks, looking at the young prince from head to toe.

"Your Majesty, the only constant thing is change," the prince says, strangely in a very low tone. The light in his brown eyes disappears and they turn dark for a second. The corner of his mouth turned upwards and his eyebrows shift, giving them that special look that he had given them during his childhood years, on special days spent with the infant Princess of Corona. King Marke isn't swayed from his initial doubt towards Prince Eugene's character. But Queen Ygraine sees the deeper layer beneath all the pompous and the fake and she kept her peace.

"All these discontent and sadness!" Prince Eugene waves his hands in frivolity and says loudly "Let us to dinner."

"Why isn't your mother the Queen joining us, Prince?"Queen Ygraine asks the Prince of Elinsore when she sees the empty seat next to King Galodius.

"She is ill, Your Majesty," Prince Eugene answers with a thin smile.

"I see that you didn't bring the Engagement Crown with you, Marke?" King Galodius asks, taking over the conversation on their way to the dining hall. They are seated to an opulent menu and servants are seeing to their every beck and call.

"No, we did not."

"I mean, if the Kingdom of Corona wants to keep the crown as a gift, with or without the marriage of Prince Eugene to the Lost Princess, the Kingdom of Elinsore will not be offended," King Galodius shrugs.

"No, we intend to return the crown but we could not travel with it," King Marke insists.

"Why?"

"One of the stones on the crown has fallen off on the day we're ready to travel to Elinsore and we sent it for repair. The crown will arrive tomorrow morning," Queen Ygraine explains.

"Wise move, Your Highness," says Galodius to Ygraine. "Anyway, you don't want to be in the same carriage with the crown when the highwayman Flynnagan Rider goes for it."

"The Corona's Royal Guards are highly trained combatants," King Marke responds to the subtle insult.

"Of course, they are. It's just that this Flynnagan Rider character is a different sort of a highwayman."

"How so?" King Marke asks, actually really annoyed that such character is allowed to exist in Elinsore.

"He is a master of disguise and a trickster. And he is assisted by an eclectic bunch of ruffians."

"He doesn't work alone, this Rider person?"

"Not if he wants to pull a big heist. Like a heist for the crown. He leads a gang of robbers called the 'The League of Duckling Thugs'."

"Duckling Thugs?"

"Yes. A strange name. Not at all sounding like a menace but they are," King Galodius looks at his nephew who is having a squid spooned into his mouth by a beautiful courtesan and yells at him.

"Prince Eugene?"

"Your Majesty, Uncle?" Prince Eugene looks flustered, filled with wine and laughter.

"Will you recite one of the lovely verses you have created for the thief Flynnagan Rider?"

"Here? Now? It's embarrassing really," he says, laughing thinly.

"Yes."

Prince Eugene has no choice.

"If you wish so, uncle. Ahem!" Prince Eugene clears his throat, stands and adopts the stance of a poet on a performing stage.

"_We seek him here, we seek them there,_

_Those guards they seek him everywhere,_

_Is he in Hell or is he in Heaven?_

_That damned elusive Flynnagan!"_

Guests on the table clap and cheer. All but two. Prince Eugene bows low and blows a kiss to the audience. King Marke witnesses this with a sore the size of an acorn growing in his throat.

Along their walk to their room, King Marke whispers into his wife's ears.

"Imagine our daughter marrying that imbecile. Poor old Tristan. His moron son reciting verses about a wanted thief, glorifying a common criminal!"

Queen Ygrain is unable to respond because she hears the sound of footsteps running towards them.

"Your Highness!" It is the funny lilting theatrical voice of their alternative reality son-in-law.

"There he comes!" King Marke complains. Queen Ygraine pokes him in the ribs. The tall and awkward Prince Eugene is already walking side by side with the royal couple.

"Your majesties, I haven't been able to speak to you both in private."

"And what business do you have with us, young Prince, that needs to be spoken about in private?"

"Call me Eugene, just Eugene, your majesties. My condolences, regarding the Princess. It's been seventeen years now, eighteen almost. It must have been really hard," Prince Eugene says, suddenly changing the tone of his voice. It becomes deeper, firmer. King Marke almost feels choked up. The King of Corona swallowed his Adam's apple.

"Thank you, Eugene. For the kind words," Queen Ygraine takes over the conversation.

"We're meant to be kin, if things have been different," Prince Eugene continues in genuine regret that is very difficult to synchronize with his bizarre appearance in the eyes of the visiting royal couple.

"Yes. We were," Queen Ygraine agrees sadly.

"But never give up hope, Your Majesties. Because nothing is as it seems," the prince gives a lop-sided smile.

"Huh?" Queen Ygraine stares into the brown eyes of the pasty white big-wigged prince and knots appear on her forehead.

"I'm sorry. I'll let you two Majesties retire to your room in peace. Good night, Your Majesties," Prince Eugene says he bows lowly and excuses himself.

"Good night, Eugene."

"What a piece of work!" King Marke gushes out as soon as the prince disappears into another hallway.

"Who?"

"Prince Eugene Fitzherbert! If things have been different, he is to be our daughter's husband. The future king of Corona and Heaven forbid, the ruler of two kingdoms united by their marriage."

"You judge so harshly, dear," Queen Ygraine says, deep in thought.

"You have seen him with your own eyes. The boy is a disappointment. His dead father must be rolling in his grave! Do you think that an empty-headed foppish dandy like that can rule a country, let alone two kingdoms conjoined by the marriage of their two heirs?" King Marke angers passionately over the Elinsorian prince. His wife walks calmly by him.

"I think Prince Eugene Fitzherbert is not what he seems to be."

"Why do you say that?"

"An empty-headed foppish dandy does not keep a goatee."

o-o-o-o

King Galodius sees the Prince entered his room. Galodius hasn't been very kind to the son of his dead brother but he feels that tonight's dinner and the subsequent rest in the drawing room filled with little monologues about the adventures of Flynnagan Rider have been highly entertaining. Prince Eugene has been an absolute sport. Maybe King Marke of Corona didn't look too excited about the whole thing because he is too tired from the journey. However, a 'thank you' is due. He must, for once express his appreciation to the boy. This time, he feels almost sorry that he had robbed the boy of his father the real king of Elinsore and also the boy's rightful throne.

"Eugene," King Galodius knocks on the door to the prince's room. There is no answer. Accustomed to giving the boy no privacy when he was a teenager, he takes out a key from his pocket and opens the door. It is empty. The room speaks volumes about his nephew's character. Wigs of all kinds are arranged in shelves on the wall. The room is exclusively made for closets and closets occupied with opulent clothes. There are boxes and boxes of accessories – rings for the fingers, fans, spying glasses, fob watches, ribbons, fake flowers, fancy handkerchiefs, etcetera, and etcetera. There is also the makeup supply – face powder, eyeliners, fake eyelashes, lip colour and fake moles. And the shoes! There are hundreds of them. King Galodius is even more pleased that Prince Eugene's collection is rivalling his. Not one sheet of reading material is in the room, evidence of his nephew's thinking incapacity. While he has prided himself to have read Machiavelli's _The Prince_ when he was twelve, but Eugene, at twenty four is an idiot. The Flynnagan Rider verses are probably his nephew's first and only products of thought.

Strange, he is sure that he saw his nephew entered the room just now. Oh well, the word of thanks can wait, he says and leaves the room.

When he just had murdered his older brother the King of Elinsore, Galodius was thinking of wiping out the whole family. But he needed the Queen to be his wife, who would be his connection to the old throne. There was no need for Eugene Fitzherbert, the threatening male heir. But the prince grew spineless and empty-headed so spectacularly that he fears he will lose his source of entertainment and lament. _Oh, look at him. So moronic that he is an embarrassment to the memory of his father. Thank Heavens that Elinsore has a new king now, a better one. If the old king is alive, Prince Eugene would have ruled Elinsore in the future and that is going to be a disaster!_

And the best part is, someone so imbecilic and mindless like Prince Eugene Fitzherbert surely has no desire for the throne. As long as enough of the people's money goes into his wardrobe finance, he'll be occupied and the Kingdom will maintain its stability, King Galodius thinks as he walks to his room.

Behind the door, behind a secret panel made from closets of clothes, the prince listens to the receding sound of his uncle's footsteps. His eyes are sharp and his mind alert. He only resumes moving when he hears the door click.

Already undressed and wearing a more accommodating pair of pants, Prince Eugene Fitzherbert takes a bag from his writing table stacked with books (a dog-eared copy of _The Prince_, Sun-Zu's _Art of War_, translated _pantoum collection _of the South East, Confucius' _Analects_ and at the bottom, the _Kamasutra_) and filled it with a maidservants' dress and veil. He takes two small pillows, his favourite from the couch and put them in the bag too. He puts on a white shirt on his bare torso and tops it with a common leather doublet. In place of the tendon damaging two-inches-heeled shoes, he wore heavy-duty boots. He did his best to wash the make-up off his face. He pushes a secret panel it the corner of the room hidden by a tall shelf of more books. The open panel reveals a winding staircase down that will lead him to the stables.

The Prince makes a mental note. He must be careful next time. He must spend more time with the ladies of the court to make sure that his uncle is not tailing him. He will only go to his room once his stepfather-uncle has gone into his. That talk with the Lost Princess' parents has made him distracted. And distraction is dangerous, even fatal, in his line of work.

"Come on Rider, the Princess' Crown awaits," he exhales.

**Author's Note: **Oh my gosh! The reviews! **CommandoNemo, An Unknown Foreign Beauty, PampleMousse07, Romance and Musicals, boyslikegirls21, AerrowsGirl07, JadeRayne** – you guys are awesome. The rhyming verse in this chapter is borrowed from the 1982 show, _The Scarlet Pimpernel _starring the hotness that he was Anthony Andrews (last seen in _The King's Speech_) and Jane Seymour. A child of the 80's, _The Scarlet Pimpernel_ is a very important influence in my writing career, even if I'm not publishing in English. You must be wondering how old I am!

The original rhyming verse is

"_We seek him here, we seek them there,_

_Those Frenchies seek him everywhere,_

_Is he in Heaven or is he in Hell?_

_That demmed elusive Pimpernel!"_


	3. Be Careful What You Wish For

**Chapter Three: Be Careful What You Wish For**

Living in a tower for seventeen years and never having the chance to set one's feet outside clearly has its advantages. On a night like this, when Mother is still away on an important errand and she is alone, after all the chores are done, Rapunzel spends her time thinking of the advantages.

The most apparent advantage is that she has an eye for details. No matter how small, the details will not escape her.

Detail Number One: Who is Odius in the sentence 'Your desire, Odius' engraved on the gold hairbrush that Mother uses to brush her hair?

Detail Number Two: What is Elinsore in 'Made in Elinsore' engraved on the candelabra made of solid gold? She has read from the Geology book, one of the three books Mother has let her read, that gold is a precious metal, a highly priced item. How gold can come into Mother's possession when all the while Mother has only reminded her about the life of frugality?

Detail Number Three: Which isn't actually a detail, but a burning question caused by such glaring fact – who built the tower that they live in? Rapunzel has been in the tower all her life but she is no fool. She knows that things don't come into existence out of thin air. Someone must have built the tower. And it's not a matchstick tower. It is 70 feet tall and strong, withstanding gale and beatings of the elements. The interior of the tower is comfortable and cosy. She has no complains. A lot of resources and labour must have gone into the building and subsequently furnishing of the tower. But how? By whom and when?

Detail Number Four: There was an incident that she can't forget, no matter how hard she tried. At first, she thought that it was a part of a dream but upon further investigation, she knew that it wasn't a dream. It happened soon after the tenth time she had seen the floating lights in the night sky. She remembered after eating the hazelnut soup Mother made for her, she had slept for what seemed days. When she woke, Mother announced that she would climb in and out of the tower using her hair. Mother never used the staircase again. And so begun her task of lowering down and pulling up Mother into the Tower. When Rapunzel investigated, she found that the door at the base of the tower was not just locked. It was boarded up. With bricks and clay. She knew that it happened during her long sleep after eating Mother's hazelnut soup. Mother couldn't have done it alone. She must have had help from someone, somehow. But why all the secrecy?

Detail Number Five: Her eye for details didn't let the little green reptile slip into the tower unnoticed. It happened two years ago when a small lizard-like thing came into the tower and she coaxed it into the palms of her hands. Now, it is a hardy and tough creature, a chameleon she called Pascal.

"It's just the two of us now, Pascal," Rapunzel speaks to the reptile sitting on her shoulder.

"The lights will come out from the east in a few days time. And we're going to see them," she sighs longingly. Pascal makes a whirring sound.

"What are you suggesting?"

She is responded by a series of intermittent clicking sound.

"Ask Mother to take me see the floating lights? Uh-uh. No way –" Rapunzel shakes her head. Pascal continues with his coded message.

"I've got nothing to lose?"

More whirring sound and click-click-click.

"My life is already bad as it is?"

The reptile nods, head jerking up and down and its beady eyes opening and closing.

"Come on. It's not that bad, Pascal," Rapunzel laughs thinly. She knows that she is lying to herself. She feels differently from what she is saying. Pascal falls flat on the window sill with his belly up and his tongue sticking out. Rapunzel cracks with laughter.

"Alright, Pascal. I'll try and ask her – for once. Though I'm not really sure she will say yes. You know that she made me promise to never leave the tower for my own good. With all the nasty people outside who want my hair. And I never, ever break a promise."

Pascal continues playing dead.

"Oh Pascal, get up from there."

No sign of life.

"OK, I'll ask her. Anyway, I'll turn eighteen soon. That ought to count for something. Get up, Pascal, get up!" She squeals at the chameleon. Pascal curls his legs and jumps back to life.

"You know what? If something bad comes out of this, it's your entire fault, Pascal. You make me do this," Rapunzel complains. Pascal ignores her and instead climbs into her hair on the back of her neck. She smiles and looks to the sky. Something catches her eyes and makes them light up. She points to the sky.

"Look! A shooting star!" She says.

"Make a wish, Pascal," she says, closing her eyes.

"Please, please, please. Give me a chance to get out of this tower. Please, please, please. Let me see what the lights really are, up close."

Rapunzel falls asleep that night while thinking of her big day tomorrow. She is scared and nervous but ever hopeful. She is running the conversation that she will have with Mother about the floating lights in her mind. She has a very uneasy sleep.

o-o-o-o

"You've got make up on your face, Flynn," Hookhand growls at Flynnagan.

"Oh yeah?" Flynn ignores him. He is already taking his clothes off.

"Whoa whoa. What're you doing?" Hookhand wards off the sight of Flynnagan stripping half naked. The league has enough of Flynn's exhibitionist tendency already.

"Hand me the pillows," Flynn says. Hookhand gives him the two pillows. Flynn presses them to his torso.

"Tie them around me."

"Oh, the pregnant lady trick. How original," Hookhand says as he begin to circle Flynn's torso with the rope and make knots to secure the pillows on Flynn.

"Dress," Flynn says and Hookhand hands him the blue dress of the common people.

"Except for the goatee, you look quite pretty," Vladamir, the one with the large horned headgear and awkward smile scoffs.

"I know! I can't help it," Flynn responds, genuinely convinced. When he is already properly dressed, he takes the scarf and ties it around his face and close to the chin, only exposing the centre of his face and hiding his goateed chin.

"How do I look?" Flynn asks for confirmation.

"Stunning," Gunther, the tall and thin expert on aesthetics says.

And so begins the bizarre sight of a pregnant woman leading a gang of burly and brutal-looking men into a complicated and dangerous plan in the stables at the back of a backwater pub. The plan for the biggest heist in the history of two neighbouring kingdoms.

"Listen up, guys. Let me go through the plan again. I will breach the vehicle carrying the target, while you stay close watching. Do not act until I'm safely in the carriage. Then, you will attack the carriage. Distract the guards. When the guards have confirmed that the target is missing, all of you will flee the scene separately. There is no need for excessive violence or bloodshed. Keep in mind that we just want the crown. When the coast is clear, we'll regroup at the Snuggly Duckling for the DROP."

The thugs grunt in unison.

"Yeargh! The DROP. Love the DROP."

In the pale light of morning, Flynnagan crosses his fingers and hopes. _Let the crown be returned to its_ _rightful owner_, he prays. He doesn't know who it really belongs to. It could belong to the Lost Princess. It could belong to the people who have toiled to pay taxes so the royal family could live their extravagant lifestyle. But he knows for sure that the crown does not belong to his uncle.

**Author's Notes:** I'm really flattered by the excitement expressed over this story. **CommanderNemo, An Unknown Foreign Beauty, PampleMousse07, Romance and Musicals, boyslikegirls21, AerrowsGirl07, JadeRayne****, classicdisneyFTW, risingstar9328**. Glad to see fans of the Scarlet Pimpernel coming out of the woodwork. Yay! I'm not alone! I have an assignment for all Tangled fans reading this. When the Rango DVD comes out, I want you guys to confirm the identity of Rango's owners, who drove the car before Rango's aquarium crashes onto the road. Because according to my kids, they are Eugene (bespectacled) and Rapunzel (post-mirror shard haircut). And the lady doll's upper half body put in the aquarium as Rango's companion; I can only imagine which of the pair put it in there. I don't own Tangled, or the Scarlet Pimpernel or Rango.


	4. The Great Crown Heist

**Chapter Four: The Great Crown Heist**

Two men are watching from a low cliff on the hillside. Both are tall and large. Their faces are ridden with scars. One sports an eye patch and another has very long sideburns. Both have red hair.

Sideburns speaks in a low, gruff voice, "There it is," referring to a carriage pulled by four horses and guarded by ten armed horsemen. The emblem of the sun on the carriage's roof shows its origin. It is a carriage from the neighbouring kingdom of Corona. And news running in the Elinsorian underworld told the two that the carriage is returning the Engagement Crown to Elinsore after seventeen years of waiting in vain for the return of the Lost Princess of Corona who is supposed to marry the then Elinsore's Crown Prince Eugene Fitzherbert.

"Come on!" Eyepatch urges his brother Sideburns. They are about to push their horses into a race when Sideburns exclaims in surprise.

"Look!"

The carriage has stopped, and so are the men guarding it. The two men see the whole procession stopped by a woman walking in the middle of the forest-flanked road.

"What the hell is this?" Eyepatch asks in suspicion.

o-o-o-o

"Slow down, men!" The Captain of the Guards issues out a command. The carriage and the horses come to a screeching halt. In front of the anxious procession of wheels and hoofs, a woman is walking with great difficulty. She is carrying a satchel slung across her chest and she is walking with her back slightly arched. Hearing the approach of hoofs and wheels, she turns to look.

"Good day, ma'am," the Captain greets the woman. Upon closer look, he finds that the woman is heavily pregnant. The Captain has a younger sister who is also pregnant, well into her eighth month, so his heart goes out to the lone woman on the road.

"Good morning, honourable sir," the woman says meekly and thinly, her breaths heaving. She has her head veiled in a scarf that she tied closely to her chin that the Captain is only able to see the small middle of the woman's face. All he can see are the almond shaped brown eyes, the strong straight eyebrows, the perfectly formed nose and the thin lips. She is a beautiful woman despite the labour-worn body.

"Where are you headed to, ma'am?"

"To the capital to see the mid-wife."

"That is a very long way to walk, ma'am, especially in your condition."

"This is the fate of the common people of Elinsore. Destined to suffer in poverty while the rich live off the people's labour," the woman sighs elaborately, making the Captain feels uncomfortable.

"We're not from here, ma'am. We're the Coronan Royal Guards."

"Welcome to Elinsore, good sir."

Something clicks in the Captain's soul. Those squarish expressive sad eyes make him want to prove that they do it differently in Corona. In Corona, the rich don't live off the poor and the soldiers are civilised, chivalrous men, the Captain is sure.

"The carriage has a lot of space for a mother-to-be," the Captain says. He gets off his horse and personally assists the pregnant woman into the carriage.

"Oh, you remind me so much of my husband," the woman sighs as a single tear falls from her eye.

"Where is he now, ma'am?"

"Poor Herbert, he's dead!" The woman laments.

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Got trampled by a rhino while he was wrangling the damn beast for the royal zoo! Boo hoo!"

"I hope the ride with the Coronan Royal Guards will ease your burden," the Captain smiles kindly, with an obvious pride signalled by the slight exhibition of his teeth.

"God bless the Coronan Royal Guards," the woman says, wiping her tear with her sleeve.

"But ma'am, please don't touch the box that you happen to be sitting next to."

"Why would I want the box for? I'm grateful enough that I can ride along with the generous soldiers of Corona."

After seeing the pregnant woman safely seated in the carriage, the procession of the Crown resumes.

Not a few minutes into the journey passed, the Captain sees dark shadows behind the trees along the path. Seconds later, they are being attacked by men on horseback. There are about fifteen men all together. Large men, burly looking men compared to the standard sized Coronan guards. And these men, when smaller are definitely strange. A thug in Viking helmet scares the horses, making the carriage careen out of control. A small thug, a senior citizen, jumps onto the driver of the carriage and clings to the poor fellow, making it impossible to control the already bucking and panicking horses. Individual guards on horseback have to fight off combatants of all manners – a man whose face is hidden by an iron mask of sort, a squat thug with a hook for a hand holding a machete, a large mime who is impossible to strike, the list goes on.

"Protect the Crown! Save the woman!" The Captain tries to maintain control. Finally, to the Captain's despair, the carriage bucks and falls on its side, wheels turning in the air. Having fended himself off his attackers, the Captain rushes to the carriage. He is prepared for tragedy. But the pregnant woman is gone. In place of her, there is a heap of women's clothing and two pillows. The box containing the crown is thrown to the ground. The Captain opens it with his heart beating wildly.

The box is empty. The crown is gone.

"We've lost the crown," the Captain gnashes his teeth and yells in anger. As soon as he is heard, the thugs stop from attacking. And as quickly as they had come, they go away, each member of the gang disappearing in his own direction, making it impossible to pursue without separating.

o-o-o-o

"It's Flynagan Rider and the Duckling Thugs!" Eyepatch says.

"Son of a b-. He beats us to it."

"Come on!" Sideburns urges. "We can still cut him off in the forest and get the crown. He is alone. One man on foot, he's nothing. We can still see him from here."

The two follow the fading trail of the infamous Flynnagan Rider as the nimble thief starts to disappear into foliage and canopies of trees.

o-o-o-o

The scarf is the last to go. With the crown safely in the satchel, Flynnagan Rider makes his way from the crime scene. He is a fast runner and finds that being on foot is his best mode of transportation as he can manipulate implements in his surrounding – hanging vines, tree branches, shallow ravines, low cliffs - more freely. As he runs he comes across three or four posters of his face nailed to the trees. He ignores them all. Until he comes to the fourth one where he sees the worst glaring mistake. He has seen them all, the things the artist does with his nose. The long, Pinnochio-like nose, the parrot-like, the cute upturned lady-like one. But the one on the fourth picture breaks him. He has the nose of a hog. He stops and stares at the poster, sighing.

"Now they're just being mean."

He begins to feel that the artist is using the posters as means to personally insult him. He takes the poster off the tree. Also the two arrows that are pinned on it. It seems that someone is using his face as target practice. He stuffs the three items into his satchel and is ready to move on. _Wait, what is this?_ Flynnagan says as he sees another poster on the other side of the same tree. _The Stabbington brothers_? A duo. _Amateurs_, he says and resumes his running. He turns when he hears the sound of hooves. He sees them, an amazing likeness to their graphic versions on the posters. He knows what they are after and he knows that he won't be able to shake them off without first properly planning his plan of escape.

"Ah! The legendary Stabbington brothers," he greets them, one thief to another, a professional to hopeless upstarts.

"Give us the crown, Rider," the one with the long sideburns says.

"Heh," Flynn scoffs. He sees a tree a behind Sideburns with a strong vine hanging from one of its branches. But it is too high to reach.

"We have planned this for a long time."

"Well, I've got news for you guys," he says. He sees a sudden drop in the geography. A deep ravine. That'll do, he calculates.

"What?"

"The Crown is mine."

"Everyone says that."

"It's got my name written on it."

Flynnagan holds out the crown so close to Sideburns' face that the man bows from his horse. Flynnagan slides the crown down his wrist as his fist grabs Sideburns hair and he pulls him down his horse before hitting him on his nose. As quick as lightning, he jumps onto Sideburns' horse and manipulates the reins to get to the tall tree with the hanging vine. When he gets to the vine, he grabs hold of the vine and frees himself of the horses. As the benefits of his excellently fit abdominal muscles, he is able to climb the vines, hang on to it like an acrobat and swings himself by the sheer force of strength and coordination. He swings from the tree to the next branch, another vine and another branch until he arrives at the edge of the ravine. He ascertains the depth and the vegetation on the side of the ravine which he will use to climb down. He jumps and catches hold of the resilient creepers and shimmies down. He reaches the bottom. He runs towards the other side of the ravine. He sees movement of a swinging curtain of vines and knows that there is a hole where wind blows through behind the vegetation. He enters the world behind the hanging vines. It is a small rocky tunnel that leads to another section of the forest. The Stabbingtons have lost him entirely, he is sure. Unless they are willing to leave their horses and climb down the ravine. To them, he has disappeared into thin air.

He comes out from the tunnel into a bath of sunlight. He is in a boxed in valley with a waterfall streaming down from a cliff surrounding it. A solitary tower stands in the middle of a paradise-like world, a fairy country, beckoning at him.

_Perfect_, he says and walks towards his destiny.

**Author's Notes:** **Kaitlin** – Thank you for an observant review. I hope to continue amuse you. About Maximus, if you can forgive me, he's not going to have a plot-driving role. Flynn already has too much on his plate. **Jaderayne **– I know everyone is waiting for them to meet up. But I don't wanna rush it. When they do I hope you'll be entertained. **Risingstar9328 **– Will Eugene know his fiancé when he sees her? I don't know. I haven't decided yet. But that will very hard to decide! **PampleMousse07** – He thought she's long dead. So 'finding her' will be like 'stumbling upon her'. All the best with the _Rango_ assignment people! Thank you all for the kind reviews.


	5. Not Made of Steel

**Chapter Five: Not Made of Steel**

It is a mistake. She shouldn't have listened to Pascal. And now Mother is crying. Mother is tired from her travel. Rapunzel has done one thing right though, restoring Mother's vitality by singing and letting Mother brush her hair after her return. But that does not make any difference when she asks Mother to take her to see the floating lights.

Mother calls her a lot of things in anger. She is an ungrateful child. She has caused her trouble. She is going to be the death of her because of her troublesome hair. A mother is cursed to have such a child. Mother yells and sighs and cries.

"You know how I hate doing this to you, Rapunzel. But I'm very upset. I need to go out, or I'll break things. Oh, how I hate hurting you!"

No, Mother, please don't go! Rapunzel almost says it out. She has been alone for days in the tower. But she sees that it will only make things worse for both of them.

"I'm sorry, Mother. I really am," Rapunzel mumbles. Mother looks at her sideways, making motions with her hand to dismiss her.

"Don't say a word, Rapunzel. Just let down your hair and let me out of here," Mother sounds cold, in total resignation to her fate of having such a disappointment as a daughter.

And off Mother goes out of the tower to calm herself down.

"Oh Pascal! I shouldn't have opened my mouth,"Rapunzel sobs thinly as she wipes a tear off her cheek. She is sitting with her back to the wall near the window. Pascal sits tightly in the folds of her dress, curled up in a ball, eyes closed.

"You're sorry too. I know. It's not your fault. I mean, you're a chameleon!" Rapunzel sighs. With that she smiles and laughs again. And she is not the kind of girl who mopes around doing nothing when she is upset. She needs to gear into action as thoughts are running through her head. She is thinking of a middle way where she can both please Mother and see the floating lights up close. At the moment, it seems impossible.

"Do you have better ideas, Pascal?" Rapunzel asks the reptile as she sets down a freshly baked apple pie on the windowsill. She always feels better after baking something.

"Now that she knows that I really want to go outside, she'll be even stricter with me. She always says 'soon but not yet', but now I feel that she won't EVER let me –"

Rapunzel stops in mid-sentence. She sees something or someone climbing up the tower, its dark head bobbing closer and closer. In the person's hands are arrows that make chink, chink, chink sound as the climber reaches higher.

A ruffian! A thug! Her constricting heart screams. One of them has finally come for her and her accursed hair.

"Hide, Pascal! Hide!" She says shuddering, almost throwing the pie on the table. Wait! She steadies herself_. I must be brave_, she says to herself. What if she can prove to Mother that she isn't as weak as Mother thinks she is? And if Mother can't take her to see the floating lights, maybe the person can take her there. Or they all can go see the floating lights TOGETHER. She is sure that Mother has methods to make the ruffian behaves along the way. Mother has that aura that will make a person behaves when she is around. With the correct leverage, Mother can do that. The person is in their tower. They are in control, right?

First of all, Rapunzel knows that the ruffian will prove to be a challenge to control. She must first subdue him. She needs a weapon that will only incapacitate the ruffian for a little while before she restrains him with what else but her hair. She grabs a frying pan from the pantry. She hides in the narrow space next to the window, the folds of the thick curtain giving her ample camouflage. She takes aim. When the person butts its head in and its arms and legs across the threshold, she notices that the person is not like Mother or herself. The person must be what the Mother calls a 'man'. The man stands in the shaft of light, the whole length of his body unfolds and straightens, and he peeks into the brown bag slung across his straight shoulders and wide chest.

"Alone at last!" He exclaims in a sonorous voice she is unaccustomed with. And that is when she strikes him on the back of his head. Never has she heard the frying pan makes that much noise. He falls flat on his face. She screams thinly and hides behind a seamstress' mannequin standing nearby. The man remains flat on the floor. She emerges from her camouflage and bends near him. She lays her hair next to him and she rolls him on his back. She sees that his face is pleasant-looking, his complexion smooth and he has no warts or skin hanging loose from his cheeks. She lifts his lips with the tip of the frying pan's handle to reveal his even teeth. Contrary to what Mother has told her, a man doesn't have pointy teeth. Well, at least not all men have pointy teeth. She rolls him into her hair. After he is securely cocooned in it, she pulls him into a chair and winds more of her hair to bind him to the furniture. The satchel that he dropped when she hit him is lying on the floor. She picks it up and examines its content. She takes out a gleaming object, a circle made of gold and precious stones, from it. She tries it on her wrist and then on her head, which fits perfectly. Pascal nods in approval. The thing shines and glitters in the light but she isn't interested in it. She needs to talk to the ruffian. Rapunzel put the thing back in the bag and hides it under a loose board in one of the steps in the staircase to her room.

"Do your thing, Pascal," Rapunzel winks at her pet. Pascal shoots its tongue into the man's ear after slapping him with it didn't work.

"Yargh!" The man yells in surprise. Pascal jumps off the man's shoulder and hit the floor.

o-o-o-o

He is ticklish. That is his best kept secret. Better kept than his double identity even. If he has one Achilles' heel, it'll be his ticklishness. He fears it more than anything. And something wet and slimy probing into his ear is the perfect source of ticklish sensation. The tickle in the ear has awakened him up from the consciousness lost caused by being hit by something hard on the back of his head. He should've seen it coming, all that reading of Sun Zu's _Art of War_ would have warned him to be at all times in the anticipation of an ambush, but he was tired and still is. He pulled an all nighter twelve hours prior to the heist, and then followed by the amount of running and swinging and climbing he put himself through. Yes, he was distracted too by the smell of bakery. He has his physical limits. He is not made of steel, unlike the thing that his attacker has used on him.

He reassesses his situation. Where is he? He is being chased by two giant lumbering red-heads. He managed to lose them by jumping into a deep ravine and escaping through a small cave. And he came upon a tower. Without further ado, he climbed the tower. He smelled the goodness of a freshly baked apple pie and that convinced him that the tower's occupants are friendly. When he entered the tower, it was all quiet and he thought that the place is deserted. He checked on his loot. That is the moment that brought him to now.

_Struggling is pointless._ Those are her first words. A female. An adult female. Adult but young-ish.

_Oh baby, struggling is my life's cause_, he smirks. _Never have stopped struggling_, he retorts silently as he looks around him. Her voice comes from the beams at the ceiling. He sees something he can't fathom even remotely. Very long hair. No, super long hair. About the length of the tower that he had to climb just now. And the hair is connected to him physically. In fact, the hair, long, golden and has the hint of sweet smelling lavender is binding him to the chair he's forced to sit on. His eyes follow the sound of movement from the beams, one to another down, down, down, until he sees a figure emerging from the darkness of the interior. The first thing that makes his head empty of thoughts for a second or two is the simplicity of his captor's beauty. He has seen beauty, in its most pompous and elaborate form, but this girl is different. He even feels that he has seen her somewhere but he just can't put his finger on it. When? Where? Or is she one of the faces in his disturbing dreams? Her green eyes and clear face and the strange unadorned hair look awfully familiar yet so far away from recent memory. According to his experience in the royal court, if a lady has hair like that, there are uncountable ways to make the hair work. And what turns him on the most is that she has him restrained with it. How kinky is that? Not even the _Kamasutra _has that in it. But he quickly shakes off those thoughts as she is speaking.

She asks him who he is. He almost laughs at the question. A question so rudimentary yet impossible to answer. Who is he really? A shallow, empty-headed prince? A coward son of a man murdered in cold blood? A cuckold heir to a wrongfully taken throne? Or a wanted thief? The final option seems the most uncomplicated. And he tells her, kind of, who he is. Right at this moment, he is Flynn Rider and that's all she's going to know. He calls her Blondie the first chance he gets to address her and she tells him her name. Rapunzel. It sounds a bit Germanish so he said to her the only German word he knows. _Gesundheit._ Growing up under the care of a relative who murdered his father didn't actually allow him proper education in anything, including the languages. So he had and still has to make do. She scoffs in annoyance. She is so close now he can see the faint freckles on her nose. Women of the court are so heavily powdered that he never sees the real skin on their faces. Even in bed.

She asks him how did he find her and he tells her the truth, a very small portion of the truth. She doesn't need to see the bigger picture, which will only befuddle her pretty head. He says that he was being chased through the forest, he saw a tower and he climbed in. End of story.

But the girl with the long golden hair feels that it isn't the end of story. He has a feeling that for her, the story has just started. Parts of her question asking who else know her location and how did he find her tell there is something very wrong with his captor. What he gets from the few seconds of exchange is that she doesn't want to be found and her location is a matter of strictest confidence. For all he knows, she has been in the tower all her life and he has the misfortune to be the first person ever to visit her and she isn't the kind who welcomes visitors.

Just then he realizes that his satchel containing the crown is no longer on his person. Panicking, he begins to struggle violently against her hair and the chair begins to buck wildly, as he demands for his satchel to be returned. She, Rapunzel, looks very worried at his display of rebellion. But she remains obstinate by not telling him. Her mouth opens and closes in exasperation before she holds up the frying pan she is wielding.

"Not again!" Flynn Rider grunts before one strong blow comes in contact with his skull and his world turns black.

o-o-o-o

"Sorry!" Rapunzel says in sheer regret to the unconscious man in the chair. She really doesn't want to hurt him again but he is getting out of control. He is so strong that she fears he will break loose from bondage, overpower her and hurt her. With difficulty, she pulls the chair to the closet. She turns the chair over and pours him out into the closet. She uses strips of rags from the pantry to tie his wrists and ankles. She uses the chair as a stopper so the closet can't be opened from the inside. She will wait for Mother to get home so she can discuss with her a deal. Rapunzel shakes in fear and excitement. He is nothing like the ruffians and thugs that Mother has described. She can feel that he is different. Mother will like him once she sees him and maybe she can cut a deal with Flynn Rider. From looks only, there's nothing not to like about him. His face is pleasing to look at, not at all like a beast or a cannibal. And his voice isn't like an animal's grunt. It is sonorous, deep, confident and even comforting.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

Mother is back. Rapunzel can breathe easily now. She needs to share her discovery with Mother and the possibilities of future events which are going to be the outcome of it. Rapunzel pulls Mother up with her hair.

"I hope I didn't leave you for too long. I really hate walking out on you after a fight, Rapunzel. Especially when I did absolutely nothing wrong," Mother says, sounding very disturbed.

"You came back quiet quickly, Mother," Rapunzel comforts her.

"Because there is something happening in the forest. A lot of ruffians running around. Some sort of unrest. I came back as quickly as I can to make sure you're safe."

"In fact, yes, Mother. A person did climb up here."

"What?" Mother's eyes widen with horror. Rapunzel nods in a self-satisfied way, happy that she is now sharing something genuinely meaningful with Mother.

"Did the ruffian hurt you?"

"No. On the contrary, I hit him twice. And he doesn't look like the ruffians you described. In fact, he looks quite nice."

"Where is he?" Mother asks breathlessly.

Rapunzel walks to the closet and opens it. Mother moves swiftly to a set of drawers where she keeps her writing instruments and takes something out that Rapunzel can't see exactly what it is.

"There he is, Mother!" Rapunzel shows the man leaning against the wall of the closet, hands and legs tied, head lolled to one side, fully unconscious. Suddenly, the man stirs a bit.

Mother sucks in her breaths and bends to the man as if to have a closer look at him. Unexpectedly, her hand moves in a thrusting motion swiftly and forcefully to the part below the man's chest, making a small ripping sound. Rapunzel is about to ask Mother what she is doing when Mother's hand pulls back and with it comes a dagger, the full length of its blade wet with blood.

**Author's Note**: Is it time to panic and review? I think yes. Will Prince Eugene die without redemption from his guilt? How will Rapunzel react to this sudden turn of event? Does she know the line between right and wrong considering that she understands the world solely through Mother Gothel's eyes?

Welcome fans of the Scarlet Pimpernel – **Kasumi Hoshi Nishida, Deuce.** **KaoriCarrie** – thank you for reviewing. **An Unknown Foreign Beauty** – Yes, you've got it spot on. Gothel and Eugene's evil uncle are in a relationship. And to my beloved reviewers, **Kaitlin,** **Jaderayne, Risingstar9328, PampleMousse07, CommanderNemo, An Unknown Foreign Beauty, PampleMousse07, Romance and Musicals, boyslikegirls21, AerrowsGirl07, classicdisneyFTW – **thank you very much. I only hope to please you all.


	6. The First Cut is the Deepest

**Chapter Six: First Cut is the Deepest**

The man in the closet is the very source of hope for her to see the floating lights. She has never seen somebody being stuck with a knife but she has occasionally cut already dead fowl with a knife and she knows the consequence is terrifying. And right at this moment, her only hope of seeing the floating lights is being cut with a knife. And the most horrifying thing is, the man is regaining consciousness.

"Mother! You killed him!" Rapunzel shrieks. It strikes her even more terrifying that the man is stabbed because she knocked him out and presented him to Mother. If he dies, it will be her fault. And she will relive the tragedy, as she had no other distraction in the tower, for years and years to come, for the rest of her life. Rapunzel can't possibly live with that.

The man wakes in pain and shock.

"Wus happenin?" He says in slurred speech. Then he tumbles out of the closet and lies flat on his back on the floor, blood soaking his clothes. Mother sighs in annoyance seeing that the ruffian is still able to speak.

"Apparently, I HAVEN'T killed him, the obstinate thief!" She concludes and prepares to stab the man the second time. Thief or no thief, nobody deserves this kind of death, Rapunzel knows.

"NO!" Rapunzel yells in anger. She holds her frying pan high and hit Mother on the side of her head. Mother spins at the force of the frying pan. The dagger falls from her hand to the floor with a cold clatter. Mother drops like a sack of potatoes. Rapunzel rushes to the man's side.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She begs him. She hands are trembling, not knowing how and where to touch this hurting man. He is the first male human being that she has ever laid eyes on. And to meet in such horrifying circumstance!

"Why?" The man moans, not comprehending the reason behind his predicament. He can't even comfort his own physical pain as he is tied at his wrists and ankles.

"Everything's gonna be OK. Everything's gonna be OK," Rapunzel assures him as she dumps the whole lot of her hair onto his doublet's front. She has only healed minor cuts on Mother's hand. She is not sure of the limits of her hair's healing ability, but she has got to try this time.

"They usually say that when nothing is OK, Princess," the man says is broken gasps. Obviously, the pain is making him delusional.

"What?" Rapunzel asks. Princess? It that a nickname? Like Mother calling her 'flower'? A term of endearment? She has come across that word in her culinary arts book. _A table decoration fit for a princess_. So, being a princess is a good thing. And he's calling her princess. Somehow being a princess seems familiar to her, in an other-worldly way.

"It'll be best if you don't talk," Rapunzel reprimands him as she closes her eyes to get into her song, the healing song.

"I'm gonna die, ain't I?" He asks, all strength lost.

"You're not going to die!" She exclaims. The song, she can't go through it if he keeps distracting her. Mother has always thought it is easy for her to sing it but it does take a little bit of her every time. She cannot be distracted and she gets tired doing it.

"I lied," the man, or Flynn Rider continues despite her warning.

"What?"

"My real name's Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know."

Rapunzel can't take it anymore. She has to make him stop his delirious ramblings.

"SHUT UP or you WILL die!"

Silence. He has probably lost consciousness. She must be quick. Rapunzel closes her eyes and starts singing the words of enchantment.

_Flower, gleam and glow... Let your power shine...Heal what has been hurt... Change the Fates' design... Save what has been lost... Bring back what once was mine... What once was mine..._

As she sings, her hair glows and ray of light permeates through the man's body. Rapunzel can only guess what the light does. In her mind, the light carries magical healing touch as if a hundred small hands are repairing cut blood vessels and pierced organs. The light breathes life into the worn out and the damaged. But she doesn't know what it will do to the dying. Will it turn back time? Does her hair turn back the clock, literally? She waits in bated breath. She notices that the bleeding from the man's torso has stopped. The light, it heals the cut, but will it make him as strong as he was when he climbed into the tower? She waits and at the same time, her eyes pass to where Mother is lying. Mother is still unconscious. But she knows that it won't be long till Mother regains consciousness.

A few seconds pass. Suddenly, he breathes again in ragged gasps and opens his eyes.

"It works!" She whispers in astonishment.

"What? Uh...," the man breathes normally now, but he is still confused by the whole episode.

"Flynn Rider, Eugene Fitzherbert, whoever you are, you're ALIVE!" Rapunzel says as she grabs Mother's dagger and cut the rags binding his wrists and ankles.

"Is this some sort of a nightmare?" Flynn Rider asks weakly, still lying on his back, his hands rubbing the front of his doublet. He sees blood on his fingers and gasps.

"Don't freak out!"

"Uh!"

"Come on! I want you out of here before my Mother comes to!"

Rapunzel pulls Flynn to his feet. He sways terribly because of the blood loss. The magic in her hair may have healed him, but it doesn't heal his memory of being stabbed or the lingering sensations of pain. She grabs him by the shoulders and leads him to the window. His legs are weak and his hands are trembling. She ties her hair to his waist and put a loop of it through the hook outside the tower's window.

"Hold on tight!"

She pushes him over the threshold, his long legs dangling out. His weak eyes suddenly light up in awareness.

"Wait!" He calls out tiredly.

"Good bye, Eugene Fitzherbert!" Rapunzel whispers to him. He reaches his hand to her face and touches the hair framing her face. As if he is trying to see through all that hair into her soul. Rapunzel closes her eyes, stifling a feeling of loss and hopelessness.

"Never come back here again. This place," she pauses, "only hurts you."

She pushes his chest and the man falls down the tower, protected by her hair. She sees him falls, tumbling like a ragdoll on the grass at the base of the tower.

That is the end of her bid for freedom.

She sees the man gets on his feet and he stumbles away in panic and hurt, into the small cave that Mother has always used.

He's gone.

Just like that.

All this could just be a dream.

Rapunzel is about to turn and see to Mother's condition when she hears the sound of metal connecting and a cold touch to her ankle. Mother is standing behind her. She slips a key into her breasts.

"Mother?" Rapunzel gasps as she sees a cold hard shackle connected to a long iron chain has been clasped to her ankle.

"I've told you before, Rapunzel. No one can know about you. Now they're going to come in hordes looking for you."

"He wasn't looking for me, Mother."

"Oh, you're so naive, Rapunzel."

Mother begins to circle around the room, as if looking for something. Mother snakes up the stairs to her room when her feet touch a loose floorboard. She bends over and lifts the floorboard.

"What is this?" In her hand is a satchel. She opens it and takes out the glittering thing that Rapunzel had tried on her head just before. The thing leaps out from Mother's hand as she jumps and shrieks. Mother looks at the circlet of glittering stones rolls down the stairs in disgust. She rummages through the satchel and finds a piece of crumpled paper. She smoothes out the paper and reads out the words.

"Wanted. Flynn Rider. Thief."

Rapunzel grimaces heartbrokenly. She mumbles.

"He says his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. He never says that he is a thief."

"Oh, stop the mumbling, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling!"

"His real name is Eugene Fitzherbert!" Rapunzel says, as if the name means something important to her and she doesn't want Mother to demean it with her chiding. Mother freezes at the mention of the name.

"Eugene Fitzherbert? EUGENE FITZHERBERT?"

Rapunzel's eyes widen. Instantly she feels that she has made a mistake. A HUGE mistake. Again. Mother starts laughing maniacally.

"Fate!" Mother exclaims.

"I will not bow down to Fate!" She continues screaming. Mother procures another shackle and walks towards the girl she has already made unable to walk freely in the tower.

"There are a few things that you need to know about yourself, Rapunzel," Mother sighs wearily as if she is the victim in the whole episode.

"The secret I kept have been hurting me, m'dear."


	7. A Coward with Too Many Plans

**Author's Notes: **I am so sorry! I spent a lot of time thinking and having cold feet. Yes, Chapter Six is too rushed. But once I do this, this story will be freaking dark and without redemption. I wish I can say that I don't bow down to peer pressure (Mr. Chaos, of the PhilipXSyrena ship in POTC fandom). But then, sometimes the peer is right and exploring other options challenges me. Please read the rewritten Chapter Six if you have the time. Thank you for the reviews readers. Your patience is very much appreciated.

**Chapter Seven: A Coward with Too Many Plans**

Prince Eugene Fitzherbert has been in many kind of skirmish before. But he has been clever enough, crafty enough, to avoid close quarter combat. Yes. He is skilled with the sword and knives if the situation calls for it. But he doesn't want to establish his reputation based on his fencing skills. He'll let the other princes do that. There are countless of them in the kingdom, now that he is no longer crown prince and there so many cousins next in line. He has got bruises from drunken tavern brawls and bruises from falling off noblemen's carriages carrying tax money. He has got bruises from being punched and slapped by angry noblemen's daughters and wives he cheated on. But they are too affected by his swagger and his smolder and his cynic humour to actually cut him.

He barely knows it when he falls from the tower. He tumbles on the grass like a drunken man thrown out of a pub. The hair that was preventing him from being broken by force of gravity slips from him as if it is a silk scarf.

The sensations of cold blade sliding in and out of his lower chest are still carved in his mind. It is not just the pain of being skinned alive. It is also the fear of not knowing why. And the helplessness of being completely bound into submission till he had not chance to even struggle against pain. He just wants to erase it from his mind. He wants to forget it all. This never happened, this never happened, he says. He gets on his feet and starts stumbling clumsily out of the tower's compound. When he is able to, he runs a little bit until he stops, out of breath. He is in the middle of nowhere. He has lost all sense of direction and he can't no longer see the tower. Perhaps the tower isn't even real.

Prince Eugene bends over and throws up everything he has in his stomach, including the squid spoon fed into him by the courtesan at dinner. He belches horrendous retching sound that makes lonely echoes in the forest.

In his mind, there is only one thing. He must get back to the Snuggly Duckling, face the wrath of the Duckling thugs for losing the crown. He could lie to them. He'd say that he lost it to the Stabbington Brothers. But then no matter what happens he must get back to the castle for lunch with King Marke and Queen Ygraine of Corona. If he doesn't turn up, his uncle will grow suspicious as the murderer/ traitor has already discovered that he is not in his room last night. The secrecy of the League is of the utmost importance. After he's got that part of his problem sorted out he'll think about the crown. He'll come back, with a plan. But then, is it worth it other than the sentimental value of the crown? In his mind, he is thinking of the aptness of giving back the crown to the people that the royal family had unwittingly stolen from. Even in death, the Lost Princess still serves the people whose welfare her parents had set up patronage for. But realistically, he can get better value by robbing Duke of Asselbath off his tax collection. The drop at the Princess of Corona's Mercy Orphanage will have to wait, much to the Duckling thugs' dissatisfaction.

Prince Eugene walks on, thirsty, hungry, dizzy, as pale as a dead man and delirious.

What will happen to the girl with the long golden hair? He doesn't understand it. He was stabbed. He still feels the repercussions of the incident and he sees the blood and the cut on his doublet. But the girl did something to him and that deed has enabled him to walk right at this moment. She had let him down the tower. She feared for his life. She told him to never come back. She has so much sadness in her eyes. And he left her. In the hands of a psychotic guardian.

How the hell did he get into this mess in the first place? And this is the part where his mother is wrong. The 'good core' that she told him about - his heart – his weakness. She said he can never be like his enemies. But he left the girl. She will die in the tower, if the tower is real and the girl is real. Somehow, his Uncle Odius is right. He is a spineless, backbone-impaired prince. A rhyming verses spouting moronic selfish dandy at best and a coward at worst.

Ah, Eugene knows that he had his 'to be or not to be' moment. And that was a very long time ago. He has suffered in the mind the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and he has not taken arms against a sea of troubles. He has decided not to fight for his own cause; his throne, his father, or his lunatic mother. He has made the decision to fight for the cause of others; to redeem himself from cowardice, to soothe his mind from shame. But for what price? Living forever in the shadow of Prince Eugene Fitzherbert the royal dandy? And when he dies, that is all he will be known as.

It is all too much for him at this dark crossroad of the delirious mind. Who is he really?

_And by opposing, end them? __To die, to sleep._

Eugene Fitzherbert falls heavily on the roots of an old gnarled tree.


	8. Promises that Kill

**Chapter Eight: Promises that Kill**

"Guess this means that you lost the crown, eh Rider?" The looming figure in his blurred vision says. Flynn shakes off the fog in his mind and reality crashes on him like mountains.

"What time is it?" He asks as he quickly jumps out of the straw bed the Duckling thugs have laid him in.

"Almost midday," says Hook Hand.

"I need new gear," Flynn says and starts taking off his soiled clothes.

"What happened to you, Rider?"

"Nothing. I just ruined a perfectly good vest."

"There's not a scratch on you. Is that your blood?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. There's this girl and her mother –"he hesitates and stops. For once, he doesn't know anything.

"Women did this to you? Why am I not surprised," Big Nose sighs.

"Courtesy of Madam Hora," Vladamir says as he throws a fresh set of clothes to Flynn's face. The upper floor of the Snuggly Duckling is a brothel.

"Thanks."

"What about the DROP, Rider? We have PROMISED Sister Astrid," Hook Hand reminds him. The gang nods grimly. They were orphans too. They hated it when the patrons made promises they didn't keep. Many nights of their childhood were spent with empty stomachs, waiting for the promised provisions that never came on time. When they were lucky, the promised batch of reject pastries came in the form of bread's skin, and that was enough for them. The crown, when which gold is melted and stones properly appraised, will buy the orphanage months' worth of food supply and build a new wing for a library.

"Look. I'm sorry, guys. I'll figure something out for the drop. But I must get back to the Rock, or Odius will suspect something is wrong," Flynn assures the men.

"Yeah, yeah," they grunt.

"I will FIX this. I'll get back here after the day's event is over. You guys just take care of your asses."

Donning a hooded cape, Flynn rides to the castle to take his place before the royal family. He pays a gold coin to a wrangler at a commercial stable and sneaks into the castle compound. After seeing the servants' stable is clear, he pushes a stone wall that caves into a small entrance that one has to crouch to go into. Like a ghost, he disappears into the wall and walks in the labyrinthine passage behind the hall. He reaches his secret annexe and spies into a peep hole. The annexe is solitary and not a thing is out of place. He enters his room and sheds his fake moustache and changes into a pair of peach silk pyjamas. He spies into a peephole that gives him the view of his gilded cage. The door is locked, everything is at where it should be. He presses a panel of closet and the shelved wall turns quietly. Prince Eugene slips into his opulently layered bed, pulls the cover up to his nose and closes his eyes, his mind undoing like a spool of thread as he replays the day's event. It is too impossible to ever happen. Yet, too painful to be just a dream.

The door sounds of knocking and a cohort of servants come in. Two women ready his bath water and two men, the lesser equipped version of the dandy Prince Eugene make ready his clothes.

"Like clockwork," Prince Eugene comments cheerfully as he skips out of bed and stretches his lazy joints and unused muscles. When he appears from his privy, dripping wet and naked, the man servant Paul looks at the prince admiringly.

"For a royalty who does absolutely nothing, Your Majesty, you're in excellent shape."

"Whatever your pursuit in life, Paul, your body is your temple," Prince Eugene replies sagely, which effect falls flat and just appears as glorified vanity at best, but manservant Paul lap it up like honey.

"Pray tell what awaits yours truly today, Paul?" Prince Eugene asks as he spreads his arms like an eagle and his assistants slip him into his underwear. He is eternally grateful that the stabbing does not leave a mark on his skin. And he is able to stand to go through the ordeal of the day to maintain the mask of secrecy. If he ever lies injured, it will be bad for his cause and the thugs. He'd rather be dead than injured. Let that one blow hit home and end everything - his demons, his nightmares, and his poison.

"Which one, Your Majesty?" Paul says as he opens a panel of closet. Prince Eugene's eyes catch the sight of one emerald coat, with golden trimmings and golden cravats. It reminds him of her. The girl with green eyes and her face framed with golden hair. He points to it.

"Excellent choice, Your Majesty. I never know that you will look resplendent in green and gold."

"She is," he says, lost in thought.

"Who is she?"

"Nothing," Prince Eugene shakes it off and says. He is starving and it makes it difficult for him to focus.

"Will you ever let me touch your face, Your Majesty?" Asks Paul as he put on a golden bulbous wig on his head.

"It's alright. Only in death, you will, if you're lucky. I mean, don't you ever feel that I actually ENJOY doing this?" Prince Eugene says as he picks up a bottle of liquid powder and starts applying the cold milky substance on his face.

"Will that be all, Your Majesty?"

"Thank you. You're dismissed."

So it begins, again. The deception. Within and without.

o-o-o-o

As Rapunzel sits on the floor, wrists and ankles tied in iron shackles, Mother takes out a bottle of ink and pen from the set of drawers she has earlier procured the dagger. It could be a very sharp and sturdy letter opener, if one can excuse the difference. She talks while she writes on a very small piece of paper.

"The truth is, I'm not your mother, Rapunzel."

"No! I'm very sorry, Mother. But I couldn't let you kill that man just because of my misbehaviour," Rapunzel begs.

"Seventeen years ago I took you away from your parents and I imprison you in this tower," Mother says coolly.

"What?"

Mother blows softly on the piece of paper she has written on and folds it into a very small cylindrical shape.

"I hated your parents, I still do hate them, but I've learnt to love and care for you as my own daughter," she continues.

Mother goes to the window and opens the cage of the two pigeons she keeps. She ties the piece of paper to one of the pigeons' leg and let the bird flies away. Rapunzel has seen Mother does these a few times. Mother has warned her to never touch the pigeons for the birds will make her sick with the bugs in their feathers.

"You're lying!" Rapunzel whispers.

"But as you grow older, I notice that you begin to seek your freedom. I can no longer deceive you with lies."

"Mother! Forgive me. I know I have hurt you, I'll never do it again."

"What happened today proves that we can no longer stay here in peace. I'm going to take you to a new place, another tower, where no one will know you exist."

"If that is true Mother, what makes you think that I will not fight you?" Rapunzel asks angrily, fighting against her chains in vain.

"It is very simple. The young man, who trespassed into this Tower this morning, is a prince by the name of Eugene Fitzherbert. His parents and your parents made a promise when both of you were very young, that the two of you will be married when you turn eighteen."

"What? Why would a prince marry me?" Rapunzel scoffs incredulously.

"Ahah! Because you're a princess, m'dear flower. You're the Crown Princess of a kingdom with adjoining border to this kingdom."

"You're lying, Mother!"

"See it for yourself, the engagement crown," Mother says, holding the crown close to her face. She points to an engraving on the base of the crown.

_Two kingdoms united by love – Prince Eugene of Elinsore and Princess Rapunzel of Corona._

The moment she sees it, only then Rapunzel's face broke into crooked lines on her forehead and at the corners of her mouth.

"But he is a thief!"

"That is the question now. It seems that Prince Eugene is living a double life that he wants to keep a secret. However, this secret is only known by you and me."

"Why did you take me from my parents?"

At this question, Mother is stumped, at loss for a split second. But Rapunzel sees the hesitation.

"Why, of course, I don't want the two kingdoms to be united as a country."

"Who are you, Mother?"

"I'm known as the Immortal Consort. The King of Elinsore, Prince Eugene's uncle is my lover. I know you have noticed the engraving on the golden hairbrush. The King of Elinsore built this tower. During my days out of this tower, I go and visit him."

"Why are you telling me all this? I don't care about Prince Eugene!"

"Oh yes, you do. You saved him. You saved a thief. Your destiny is catching up on you, Rapunzel. But I'm not one to believe in Fate. I choose my own destiny."

"I have nothing to do with Prince Eugene!" Rapunzel yells vehemently.

Mother comes closer to her and begins to roughly shake the folds of her dress. Something lumpy drops out of Rapunzel's skirt and tries to scurry away. But Mother's wicked hands are fast. The loyal Pascal, instinctively knowing Rapunzel's distress has made the mistake of hiding in her skirt. Now, the innocent pet is in the clutches of Mother's talons.

"And I know about your pet lizard!"

"Mother! No! Not Pascal!" Rapunzel cries. Finally, she sheds tears. Not even a man stabbed to bleed out on the tower's hardwood floor will make her cry. But it is Pascal that Mother keeps as hostage now. Mother squeezes the reptile till its eyes bulge and finds a fine wired cage where she keeps baby pigeons. She throws Pascal into the cage and closes the lid and locks it with a padlock.

"Tell me what you want me to do! I'll do anything you want!" Rapunzel begs her. Mother smiles with her eyes drawn to slits.

"Do you promise to obey my instructions at all times or Pascal will die! I will let you see him and I will take good care of him as long as you do everything as you are told, by me!"

"I promise, Mother."

"Oh, don't 'mother' me, Rapunzel. I'm not your mother!" Mother shouts.

"I promise," Rapunzel cries in pain.

"Good. Do you promise not to tell a soul about your origin or your name, or I will make Prince Eugene die a painful death in the hands of his uncle, King Galodius of Elinsore."

She remembers the brown eyed thief, his soft touch on her face, and his dark humour in his darkest hour. They were promised to each other. He, who called her 'Princess' when he had a deep, bloody gash in his chest.

"I promise."

She promises to keep her prince safe from harm. One cut because of her is enough.

"Now, we'll wait," Mother says as she begins preparing lunch in the kitchen.

"I know you will be hungry soon," Mother says with her sing song voice. Rapunzel's tears flow in endless river down her cheeks.

**Author's Notes:** I'm sorry I have to keep Pascal hostage. But I've told you before, this thing will be dark. Thank you to me wonderful reviewers**, KaoriCarrie, An Unknown Foreign Beauty, JadeRayne, tb2270, CommanderNemo, SWACGleekFreak, boyslikegirls21 (I wanna make him to), cavemanluver14, Romance and Musicals, risingstar9328, PampleMousee07, Kaitlin (I think your review changed this story a lot), Kasumi Hoshi Nishida & Deuce & Aerrows-Girl07, ClassicDisneyFTW (come back to me!) **and **an anonymous reviewer (**reveal yourself) ,who have given me feedback that changed the course of the story. At first, this story was going to be an innocent romp through the landscape. Now, it is totally corrupted.


	9. Immortal Consort & Ghostly Trespasser

**Chapter Nine: The Immortal Consort and the Ghostly Trespasser**

"Pardon my tardiness, Your Majesties," Prince Eugene apologizes to the already seated royalty of Corona.

"It's alright, Eugene. We just got here," Queen Ygraine says sweetly and King Marke grumbles in annoyance.

"Your uncle will be a little late," Queen Ygraine informs him.

"Then we can start without him," Prince Eugene says as he winks at the sumptuous meal in front of them. The day's activities have rendered him to the point of starvation.

"How much do you think one of your costumes cost, young prince?" King Marke asks suddenly as the meal starts to be served.

"I'm not much of an economist, Your Highness," Prince Eugene smiles through gritted teeth.

"That pair you're wearing can feed a family for the whole year," King Marke tells him.

"They eat clothes?" Prince Eugene's eyes widen. Queen Ygraine almost spurts out the baked rice in her mouth. King Marke stabs a chicken's leg on the plate.

"Dear, let's not talk about state affairs," she says with a grin on her face. She sees Prince Eugene looking at her, his eyes unclouded by sadness for a split second.

"Then, what shall we talk about, Ygraine? Let's talk about our Princess, shall we? Hm? Do you even remember her, Prince?"

"I do remember her. She has amazing pair of eyes and her hair, shining like a halo. A beautiful baby girl."

"Do you even remember her name?" King Marke asks him. Prince Eugene balks at this, completely stunned.

"Rasputin? Rumplestiltskin?" Prince Eugene mumbles, not exactly dedicated to his alternative reality in-laws. He gives up.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't," he admits guiltily. Queen Ygraine tries to open her mouth.

"Don't, Ygraine. Don't," King Marke stops her, in bitterness. Queen Ygraine closes her mouth and shifts uneasily in her seat.

"Do you remember what she stands for, for us?"

"I was just a little boy. Barely six years old. I don't even know what it means to be betrothed to someone. And I can't possibly know what you were thinking, Your Highness."

"We set up an orphanage in her name, just so that someone in this country will remember her as a source of inspiration for kindness and generosity."

"Is that so, Your Majesty?" Prince Eugene is no longer touching his plate.

"What is Elinsore's most famous legend, other than the thief Flynn Rider?" Queen Ygraine drops her knife and fork onto her plate with a loud shrill ringing. Both men balk at her, pausing in their heated cold argument. Prince Eugene gives in first.

"There's this legend, an old wives' tale, about the Immortal Consort," he clears his throat.

"That sounds very interesting. Who is the Immortal Consort?"

"A fabled woman who lives through many ages of kings, entertaining them, deceiving them with her beauty and wicked counsel."

"That is scary," Queen Ygraine widens her eyes and looks sideway at her husband. King Marke sees that look, ignores it and poses a question to Prince Eugene.

"Have you seen her, this Immortal Consort, Prince?"

Prince Eugene laughs.

"No, she is only after the kings of Elinsore."

"What about your late father?" King Marke asks. Prince Eugene breathes deeply. Queen Ygraine stops him.

"It's only a legend, Marke," Queen Ygraine elbows his husnand and continues, "Do you want to know what is the most famous legend in Corona?"

"Please tell me, Your Highness," Prince Eugene asks in resignation.

"The Ghostly Tresspasser," Queen Ygraine whispers with a faraway look in her eyes.

"She slipped into the Castle undetected and came so close to us and snatched our baby right under our noses."

"Ygraine," King Marke whispers.

"It happened, Marke. We lost our daughter. But we can't forever be angry for what happened and take it out on everyone we meet. We have no right to question Prince Eugene's decisions in his life. It is his life. If he is so thoughtless, he will have blamed us for losing his betrothed to a random kidnapper!"

"Your Highness," Prince Eugene says, eyes wide.

"Ygraine."

"Ah, pardon my lateness. I received a very urgent message that needed to be given immediate attention," King Galodius says as he enters the room hurriedly, unaware of the heated exchange. Everyone at the table is relieved for the distraction.

"From the Immortal Consort?" King Marke asks jokingly. King Galodius is stumped. Prince Eugene laughs, controlling himself from spurting out a mouthful of wine.

"We were just talking about legends of the two kingdoms, Galodius. Ignore these two," Queen Ygraine says.

"Of course, of course," King Galodius says and takes his place.

"So, uncle, what are today's affairs?" Prince Eugene asks King Galodius.

"Nothing that you should care about. But if you're worried about where the finance for your next batch of clothes is coming from, it is already secured but it's going to be a little late. Duke Asselbath is running an important errand before the tax collection can be sent to the Treasury," the King says dismissively. No one in the right mind can take that with a straight face, Queen Ygraine notices this.

"That is unfortunate. But I guess the clothes will have to wait," Prince Eugene moans. King Marke grunts. Queen Ygraine fiddles with a quail's wing, ears alert.

"You're lucky, nephew. My initial plans for you were not very generous," King Galodius sighs in retrospect.

"You wanted to send me for an overseas education?" Prince Eugene guesses excitedly.

"Something like that," the King of Elinsore snorts like a pig.

Disregarding everything, Eugene Fitzherbert is instead calculating the timing of the day's events. He will gather intelligence about Duke Asselbath's cohort to the Treasury. He will alert the Duckling thugs about their next heist and subsequent drop. In the meantime, he needs an excuse.

"Uncle, remember the hot springs in the Queen's Lament Hollow?"

"What about it?"

"I plan to go there for a beauty treatment."

"Who are you going there with?"

"Man servant Paul and his cohort."

"Make sure you come back for the Lost Princess' Memorial," King Galodius agrees to it and the group finishes lunch uneventfully. By the time lunch ends, Prince Eugene rushes off, not looking back to the royalties. He needs to find Paul and tell him that he and his group of servants are getting three days of paid leave. He doesn't see Queen Ygraine desperately trying to reach him. He doesn't know that she has something important to tell him.

o-o-o-o

If she could share her story, everyone will tell her how foolish she is, telling Rapunzel the truth about her origin. The girl doesn't need to know anything. But Gothel has considered revelation appropriate when the pieces fall together. The girl has knocked her on the head with a frying pan, and has brazenly shows disrespect to her over a common thief. Gothel has put a shackle on Rapunzel's ankles and pretended that she is scared that the daughter she has raised is acting violently towards her and the girl should be taught a lesson. She would make Rapunzel apologize for her misbehaviour and things would be the way it was.

But the plan changed when she saw the crown and Rapunzel told her the thief's real name. The horror of Fate finally catching up to her has seeped into the cockles of her dark heart, but she faces it with courage, if such can be called so. She sees the pieces of a puzzle of destiny rearranging in front of her and she thinks it is time she takes action.

Her influence on the King of Elinsore has never been stronger and it is time that she takes her rightful place on the throne beside him after centuries of planting her seeds of mythic existence in the kingdom's imagination. She has completely lost touch with the kingship when the rightful king, Prince Eugene's father was on the throne. The late king was unconditionally faithful to his wife. That was when she was driven to seek for Prince Galodius, the second in line to the throne. A little bit of poison was involved and then seduction, and that sealed the fate of the Elinsorian throne. She has taken her time, concerned with the way of securing her hold on her new and troublesome source of immortality. It used to be a flower with the power of regeneration. But a little mishap caused the flower's power to be transferred to a baby, a princess of the neighbouring kingdom. She has taken the baby away from her parents, the King and Queen of Corona. And lives in deception, making the girl believes that she is special and needs to be protected from harm. While still maintaining her hold on King Galodius, Gothel has lost sight of the queenly throne. What is power and wealth if one cannot live with it forever? And as long as the girl is with her, time is on her side.

But the things she needs are all in place now. The prince has come and she knows how human Rapunzel is. Gothel is almost proud that she has raised such a perfect human being. Rapunzel has none of her wickedness. This shows how good she is at deception. But then, the girl having no chance for other kinds of interaction, has very limited chance of exploring the darker side of humanity.

The prince's trespass is in other words, a blessing in disguise to Gothel. It is Rapunzel's first interaction with the outside world and it shows that the girl has a very steadfast concept of right and wrong. The girl has conscience. The girl knows no deception, yet. If Gothel doesn't lay it out clearly for her, the lying will begin and she will one day escape freely into the world and that will spell the end of Gothel.

So, hostages are necessary. She knows Rapunzel's attachment to the chameleon. A girl who never goes out from her home can't hide a pet she has been keeping for three years. And her sympathy towards the thief can be exploited if there is a connection between the two. And the connection is laid bare before her. That is when she decided that she is ready to fulfil her own destiny. To become the true Immortal Consort, and not just be a myth, a fable.

"You must be hungry, Rapunzel," Gothel kills the fire on the stove. She pours the hazelnut soup into a bowl and tears a piece of bread into small bites.

"You're just going to poison me," Rapunzel says bitterly.

"And I bet that Pascal is hungry too,"Gothel says and taps on the small cage. The reptile is huddled in the corner of its prison, eyes closed, unmoving but breathing.

"Pascal won't eat until you do," Gothel says and moves closer towards Rapunzel. She spoons some of the soup and holds it close to her mouth. Rapunzel opens her mouth, receptive but unwilling, and swallows it without tasting.

"What shall I feed your reptile with?"

"Crickets, flies, grasshoppers, moths, worms."

"Quite a troublesome pet you have here, Rapunzel."

It isn't until the tenth spoonful of soup that Rapunzel lies in a heap on the floor.

Oh, who would ever think that it will come to this? Gothel questions herself. Is there another option to this? She doesn't know. It is too late now. There is no turning back for her. But she has kept one piece unmoved - the truth about the kidnapping. The one truth that Gothel does not know yet and fears to know.

What if Rapunzel knows that Gothel spirited the girl away for her hair? What if the girl knows that she can destroy Gothel by destroying herself? If she knows that, will Rapunzel do it? End her own life to end the suffering the reptile has to endure? End it all to save her prince?

She shudders at the thought.

**Author's Note**: My readers, the next chapter will be a little bit late as I need to finish grading 4 classes worth of essays. I appreciate your criticisms and I have rewritten Chapter 8 for grammatical precision. However, there is no change in plot for I think, I can still play this one. **KaoriCarrie – **Yeah, Mother G is pushing it this time. Hopefully you'll stay on for the plot**. An Unknown Foreign Beauty- **Give this story a chance (begging mode)**. Romance and Musical, tb2270 **- I know someone will be sad about Pascal!** PampleMousse07- **Don't mind Paul. He won't be bothering anyone again.** JamieJazz – **You are absolutely right, shame on me**. boyslikegirls21- **this is not going to be a happy story, sigh**. Meeeel - **thank you. Somehow a few errors doescape me!


	10. Crucibles

Previously on 'A Prince to the Rescue':

Prince Eugene leads a double life to survive his uncle's rule. To the kingdom, he is a useless prince who has no brain at all and only cares about his clothes. But he rebels against his uncle's oppressive rule by stealing from the rich and giving back to the poorly funded orphanages in Elinsore. His latest exploit is stealing the Engagement Crown from the Coronan Royal Guards. The crown is being returned to Elinsore by the visiting King and Queen of Corona, to annul the engagement as Prince Eugene's fiancé has been missing for almost eighteen years and is presumed dead. Prince Eugene secures the crown but being pursued by rival thieves, the Stabbingtons, he climbs a hidden tower. Once in the tower, he is promptly captured by a mysterious girl with long golden hair, Rapunzel. The girl knocks him unconscious for the second time and that is when the girl's mother returns and stabs him so he will die. The girl reacts to this incident by hitting her mother unconscious and then miraculously healing him with her hair. The girl sends the prince out of the tower and warns him to never return. Delirious, the Prince stumbles his way from the tower and is rescued by his gang of thieves, the Duckling thugs. Once he regains consciousness, the prince returns to the castle for lunch with his uncle and the visiting Coronan royalty. Meanwhile, the girl in the tower is put in chains by her mother when she is distracted in bidding the thief goodbye. The girl's mother, Gothel, tells the girl that she kidnapped her from her royal parents to stop the union of the two kingdoms. By taking the girl's pet chameleon hostage and threatening to kill Prince Eugene, the thief and the girl's intended, Gothel now manipulates Rapunzel to her whims as she seeks to transport her to a new location.

**Chapter Ten: Crucibles**

As Prince Eugene rides merrily in his carriage to a halfway upper class brothel before parting ways with his personal fashion consultants, the royal vehicle brushes sides with the unlucky cohort of the Coronan Royal Guards. In his Prince Eugene effects, he is safe from suspicion. He can even observe the extent of damage his Duckling thugs have caused. The carriage from Corona has lost a wheel. The guards are bruised and battered, but none are injured. A job well done, if only he had managed to hold on to the crown, he berates himself.

He can only imagine what will happen next. His uncle will throw a fit and curse Flynn Rider till his face turns blue. As for King Marke, he will probably just pack up and leave. And that is good for him because he doesn't need all the crap the visiting royalty bring him. His uncle usually ignores him on daily basis and that leaves him ample time for his outside interest. It is only because of the arranged meals that are making him running out of time in every aspect. He has a soft spot for Queen Ygraine, but hopefully they'll meet again in better circumstances. Out of many people in his life, Queen Ygraine is the only one whom he doesn't feel the need to impress. She seems to be able to look through his disguise but hopefully no one ever will. Orders shall be put out to continue seeking Flynn Rider. This time the posters won't say DEAD OR ALIVE. It will just say DEAD OR ROTTING IN HELL.

Was it necessary? Stealing the crown? Now that he has lost it he feels that it is unnecessary. But twenty four hours ago it seemed so symbolically appropriate, so justified.

In regret, Prince Eugene can only try to make himself laugh. He pokes his head out of the carriage window.

"Men, you all look like you've been through hell!"

"Who's that?" The Captain of the Guards jerks his head to look in the carriage's direction.

"That's the ex-crown prince, Captain," one of the guards answers.

"Loser," the Captain of the Guards gnashes his teeth.

He hears that with glee. The more wrong they think about him, the better he is getting at, in this game. Except for the girl and her mother. That is totally unexpected. The two caught him so off guard that he almost lost his life. But the girl, she saved him and then sent him away.

"Never come back here again. This place only hurts you," she has said.

Is that a cry for help? He begins to think.

Oh, crap. He hates crucibles. He hates places or situations or people that beckon him to return. He hates the castle, which has his mother, the mad queen. He hates Odius, but he has his mother. He has maintained amongst his mates, the thugs that he doesn't give a damn about anything. But the guys have brushed him aside and say, yeah, yeah, nobody's asking what you care about, Rider. But they don't know, he has things tied to his marrow and they keep pulling him back. The Duckling thugs, they all just laugh everything away like nothing really matters.

But this tower. There's something about it. The girl with pleading eyes and the crown hidden in it. He'll try and let it go. Let's see how it is this time. He doesn't have to prove himself to anyone, he convinces himself.

o-o-o-o

Gothel knows that horses and carriages will not be able to scale down the boxed-in valley from the small cave she always make her entrance to and exit from the tower's compound. But there is another way to the valley of the tower through the rocky mountains that surrounds it. She calls it the Dead Men's Pass. It is a small tunnel that bores through the rock and lands on the edge of the valley. That is the route followed by Duke of Asselbath's men who were exploited by Odius in building the tower seventeen years ago. It took fifty men and a hundred days to finish building the tower. And the men were promptly met with an unfortunate accident after they leave the site. One man was spared and it was Duke of Asselbath who now has to revisit the Tower for the second time since its construction.

Gothel waits at the base of the tower, her face half hidden by her hooded cloak. The duke brings with him two carriages. One pulling a load of wheat and potatoes. Another for his own comfortable ride and chests containing money. When a rider intercepted his cohort and gave him the King's order ,he had to further the journey a little bit more before he can dump the tax collection at the castle, after pocketing a generous portion for himself, of course. She and the duke utter not a word to each other. She orders the men to dismantle the tower's sealed entrance and bring down a package to the carriage. It is a heavy lump of something with the length of a reclining person wrapped in a rug. Her orders are carried out without question. As everything goes as planned, she sees that the roll of rug is placed securely on the second carriage. Two guards are placed on the carriage. Gothel sits in the carriage meant for the Duke. The Duke takes the place beside the carriage driver. All the while, she never let go the cage containing the chameleon. The reptile has woken up from a tired but listless sleep after being fed with stale dead flies.

The cohort leaves for the castle.

o-o-o-o

The Duckling thugs regroup at the Snuggly. And Flynnagan Rider has a plan to reacquire the crown.

"Damn it, Rider! I lost my hand because one of your botched robbery," Hook Hand slaps the table's surface with his good hand.

"Duly noted," Flynn sighs.

"What does hot pants want?" Tor, the one with garden shears sticking out from his back, asks.

"Follow him to the place where he lost the crown," Hook Hand gushes. "How many men do you need, Rider?"

"To handle the group of insurgents hiding there? I'd say thirty. Do you think you can find more trustworthy and reliable recruits? I think we must expand," Flynnagan Rider says as he rubs the spot below his chest where a dagger has stuck. He still feels the bite. He can recall the searing sharp coldness.

"You said there were a woman and her daughter. And you need thirty men?" Tor questions him.

"I said that?"

"Yup."

"Let the most agile do it. How about Gunther and Joe Mateo?"

"And what the rest of you thugs gonna do?"

"We'll lay ambush on the dook's carriage before they approach the capital," Hook Hand says.

The thugs send the three off where they last ambushed the Coronan Royal Guards. From there, Flynn Rider, Gunther and Joe Mateo travel on foot. After going through the ordeal of travel Flynn had to go through, the three arrive at the tower.

"Freaky," Gunther comments, not batting an eyelid.

"Super freaky," Joe Mateo says.

Flynn has approached the base and put his hands to his mouth.

"Rapunzel! Let down your h –"

He can't finish his calling when a solid fist lands on his jaw and sends him swaying. It is Mateo.

"Fat de hey wus dat fa?" Flynn says as he cups his jaw in pain.

"Are you nuts? You don't call out to insurgents!" Gunther hisses.

"Hey, you two! There's a door!" Gunther says. The man has already walked to the back part of the tower.

"What?" Flynn croaks in disbelief. The three climb the stair in the dark space. "Be careful, guys. They're dangerous."

Nothing happens until they reach the living floor. The place looks exactly like he remembers it. He forgot that it was just this morning that he climbed into it, got hit till he lost consciousness, tied up like a fool and subsequently, having seven inches length of thin sharp iron planted in him.

"Nobody's here," Joe Mateo says. Flynn is looking at the spot where he had tumbled to and lay in pain.

"The decor is commendable. There are some tasteful pieces of furniture here. Homely, but sad," Gunther comments, having the eye for interior decoration. Flynn's eyes move to a piece of discarded paper on the floor. It is the wanted poster with his face on it, the one with a swine's nose. His leather satchel is lying nearby. He stoops and picks both up. The satchel is empty.

"Gone," he says thinly.

"And so is the crown!"Joe Mateo and Gunther exclaim and jump on him. Mateo has his neck in a lock.

"Ack!" Flynn retches. After a while the two let his neck go.

"Always wanted to do that," Gunther says.

"Sorry, guys," Flynn coughs out, rubbing his throat.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's ambush that Asselbath prick,"

o-o-o-o

Rider's return is welcomed with bad feelings. Hook Hand feels that the most. Everyone feels that they want to kick Rider in his tight ass but they are saving that for later. Now they wait for Asselbath, one of the biggest pricks in the kingdom. Flynn Rider is lame but he's not a prick. He's like a very privileged jack-ass. And right now, everyone is looking at the jack-ass waiting from on top of a strong branch of the tree babbling away instructions. Damn instructions! Who's he kidding? He's the greenhorn here. Shorty has been in the industry for a hundred years and he's not giving orders. He's in retirement and he's still here, doing what he can. Vladamir has left his birth home, took up piracy and till he end up here. Compared to Rider who has been to nowhere, Vladamir is far wiser in the ways of the land. He, Hook Hand even lost his hand when a horse bit him and he ended up with an infection. It happened during a raid three years ago, the time when Rider was angrier, sadder. But it wasn't really Rider's fault. So, he has been through more crap than Rider. Still, they all enjoy teasing him during their raids, because they know they can't do that in other circumstances.

"See, Hook Hand, climbing a tree gives you a better view of the land," Flynn Rider says as he keeps pushing an obstinate branch of leaves that keeps getting into his eyes.

"Listen carefully for the sound of beating hoofs," Rider continues.

"You talk too much when you're nervous."

"Me? Nervous? Nohhhuuuu!"

"So you lost the crown, you're the one who wanted it. We didn't even know it exists. Big deal. Who cares? Something is bothering you, Rider."

"I've lost stuff before. This is nothing,"

"I don't mean just the crown."

"And?"

"The mother and the girl. They're gone, are they? And you feel that you're somehow connected to them."

"What? Nooouh!"

"So what else is there?"

"You know that I don't attach myself to anything,"

"Yeah. Right. You are the most attached person I've ever met."

"Really? How is that so, Hookie?"

"Don't call me Hookie."

"Then don't call me attached."

The boy seems really upset now. Hook Hand could have pursued this further but the sound of beating hoofs stops their lame argument.

"There they come!"

Two carriages, one is going far ahead of the other. The first carriage doesn't seem to be carrying too much load, thus moving faster.

"Where the hell is Shorty?" Rider curses.

"Hey, show some respect. He's old enough to be your grandfather."

"Sorry. Gah! Too fast. We'll get the next one. What did I tell you guys about getting new recruits?"

As the men cuss, Shorty makes his appearance. A tiny, ancient man leaning on a walking stick crossing the lone jungle path. The second carriage stops, making way for the elderly citizen.

"Go! Go! Go!" Rider rushes the men. A few men put their weapons to the driver's throat while the others unload the carriage of its burden. Rider is not missing out in the action. He sees a rolled up rug on the carriage amidst the sacks of wheat and potatoes.

"What is it, Rider?"

"Since when noblemen take away rugs from people's homes? And these peasants, do they even have rugs this big in their homes?"

Hook Hand sees Rider unfolds the top of the rug. They both see golden hair, wild and in abandon. Rider peels away the rug. And they see the face of a sleeping girl. Her eyes are closed. She has freckles on her nose and something about that hair is making Flynn Rider lose his focus on the task at hand, ridding the carriage of its precious load.

"Goldie?" Rider whispers to the girl's face. Hook Hand knows right at that moment something is wrong. This is the girl in the tower. Somehow Fate makes the two meet repeatedly.

"Help me," Rider calls to him.

"What are you gonna do, Rider?"

"I - we, can't just leave her like this."

"Maybe she's a slave or something," Hook Hand shrugs.

"So?" Rider stares at him accusingly.

But everyone can see that whoever in that rolled up rug is completely unmoving, probably dead. Hook Hand helps him unroll the rug. The girl remains motionless. Flynnagan Rider, heaves the girl in his arms to his chest, her shockingly long hair trailing behind them. Somehow, Hook Hand is compelled to carry the hair. The thugs see how the most wanted thief carries the girl to his horse, speechless. Big Nose, the romantic of the gang, breathes sadly.

Everyone who is looking knows that giving one's heart to a woman, with that kind of tenderness, will only end badly for a criminal.

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the little recap on top. I haven't updated for so long that I don't want to force you to reread the whole thing. In this chapter, I publish my questions about the tower. Who built it? When? A tower doesn't just stand out of thin air. So that's my take on it. No magic this time. The actual Chapter Ten contains only 2283 words. And I have finished grading the exam papers! Yay! But other tasks lurk in the dark.


	11. Reunion at the Orphanage

Previously on 'A Prince to the Rescue':

Still bent on reacquiring the crown, Prince Eugene in his Flynnagan Rider persona, revisits the tower. But the occupants as well as the crown are gone. Prince Eugene is about to let go of everything he knows about the crown or the strange girl in the tower and move on to his next heist – Duke Asselbath's tax collection convoy. Unbeknownst to him, this convoy is Gothel's means to transport Rapunzel to a new location. The carriage carrying the drugged Rapunzel gets separated from Gothel's carriage and is ambushed by Flynn Rider and the League of the Duckling Thugs. Prince Eugene is reunited with Rapunzel. The last time we saw the pair, he is carrying her off to somewhere.

**Chapter Eleven: Reunion at the Orphanage**

A jolt makes Gothel jumps into alert. She has dozed off, for how long she doesn't know. The carriage has come to an abrupt stop.

"Ambush! We're being robbed!"

That is the duke's voice. Gothel pokes her head out of the window. Two huge brutes have subdued the duke at sword points. The duke, being a man plagued by diseases of the affluent, is in no fighting state. He is already in surrender. The guards are helpless when their master's safety is threatened. Gothel waits for one of the brutes to approach her. The one with the long sideburns rips open her carriage door.

"Get out!" He roars. Gothel simply flicks her wrist and a dagger finds a new home – Sideburns' ribcage. It is just a scratch but it is enough to send the man reeling in pain.

"What the hell-" the one with the eyepatch exclaims.

"Did not expect a woman to be carrying a knife with her?" Gothel asks coldly.

The sudden turn of event allows the guards to take control of the situation. The table is now turned; the two brutes are now captive. This sudden calm also allows Gothel to reassess the situation.

"What happened to the other carriage?" Gothel asks in horror.

"Another gang of thieves got to it before us." Desperate, Eyepatch volunteers to answer.

"Do you know who they are?" Gothel screeches as she puts her dagger to Sideburns' throat.

"Flynn Rider and the Duckling thugs."

"What?" Gothel gasps and her eyes widen with anger. Her thinking is quick to counter what has just happened. Their almost identical appearance gives Gothel an important clue.

"If you want your brother to live, bring me the girl who is with Flynn Rider. You will know her by her long golden hair. Take her to me, unharmed, at the White Stallion's Inn. If you do not bring her to me before the sun comes out, your brother will die at the hangman's noose and the king will hunt you down for attempted robbery of the King's tax collection. Do you understand everything clearly?"

"Yes, m'lady," Eye patch says.

"Guards!" Gothel assumes leadership as her plight is more desperate now. Her very life is hanging on the caged reptile in her hand.

"Yes, m'lady."

"Get more of your men. Find the girl with the golden hair. Look for her in welfare homes and orphanages. I have a feeling that this Flynn Rider character is affiliated to these places."

"Yes, m'lady."

Gothel seethes. Rapunzel must be returned to her before her true age catches up with her. But something tells her that the girl's return will be swift. She looks with eyes drawn to slits at the tired-looking reptile; grey in the day's fading light.

o-o-o-o

She slips in and out of consciousness like she moves in between dreams. In one dream, she is in a world of nightmare. The woman whom all her life she has known as her mother, but actually is her greatest enemy is pushing the spiked hazelnut soup down her throat. In another dream, her head is leaning against a strong wall of comfort which strangely has the steady sound of a beating heart that lulls her even deeper into sleep. At times, she manages to open her eyes and look up. She sees his face, so determined yet in otherworldly sorrow, not even noticing that she is looking at him. She wants to say something to him, but every part of her body feels numb and she is dragged back into sleep.

The next thing she knows, she opens her eyes and finds out that she is on a bed. Her vision is swimming. She sits up. There are people next to her bed but they are not paying attention to her. They are talking.

"I know what you're doing and why you're doing this, Flynn."

It's a woman's voice.

"Do you want me to make confession, Sister Astrid?"

A man asks. And it is the voice of the only man she knows. Flynnagan Rider. Or in truth, Prince Eugene of Elinsore. Or Eugene Fitzherbert. Whoever who he really is, behind all his disguises.

"Oh, Flynn. You're beyond what confessions can mend. And in the current situation, I'm not one to ask for more. But you can't go on like this forever."

The woman, Sister Astrid is pleading.

"What do you want me to do?"

There is resignation in his voice. A voice plagued with hopelessness and confusion.

"Claim what is yours and start a change."

"It seems that I've taken the wrong path in the very beginning to take that kind of action."

"I think you've taken the right path. If you had not, you would not even have the faculty to know the right from wrong."

As her saviours are deep in conversation of regrets and hopeless dreaming, Rapunzel tries to get out of the bed quietly. She imagines herself a stealth body, slipping out of everyone's sight without a sound. Instead, she sways like a storm-swept tree and her feeble attempt to walk away catches the attention of the two people in deep thoughts. The man, Flynn steadies her by holding her on the waist.

"Where are you going, Blondie?" He makes her sit on the bed again. Rapunzel sees now that Flynn has been talking to a middle-aged woman, older than Mother, who is wearing a grey veil and very modest, generously large clothes. When they are talking, they are tending to a little boy who is lying prone in bed. The boy's face is deathly pale and covered with sweat. His eyes are closed and he is mumbling in his sleep. The veiled woman looks like she hasn't sleep for days.

"Where am I?" Rapunzel asks.

"You're at an orphanage," Flynn answers.

"An orphanage?"

"I found you. You're rolled up in a rug."

"Mother."

"Exactly," Flynn whispers conspiratorially. "You're safe now."

Many things are running through Rapunzel's mind all at once. This is the last place she should be at. With the very person she shouldn't be with. Pascal is in mortal danger. Pascal will starve without her. She can't let that happen. She can't just let brush a thing like a starving pet in the hands of a maniac as long as she draws breath. She has to go back to Mother. She must set things right. But she knows that she can't easily slip away from this place. Her first course of action is not to tell that she's planning to get out of the orphanage.

"I'll get you something to drink," Flynn says and gets out of the room. Rapunzel is left with the boy and the woman. The boy is delirious and seems to be in terrible pain just breathing.

"What is wrong with him?"

"He is very ill."

"How did he become this way?"

"He was abandoned on the streets. It was only after a week when Flynnagan found him and brought him here."

Rapunzel plans of leaving but she can't leave the boy like that when she knows she can do something about it. Her encounter with Flynn Rider the thief has told her something. Her hair doesn't just cheer Mother up, but it has healing capabilities that even can save a person from the brink of death.

"I can help him."

Rapunzel sits by the boy's bed and wraps her hair around his chest, where his raspy breaths come from. The veiled woman stares in confusion. Rapunzel starts to sing the song Mother taught her.

_Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change Fate's design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine._

Her hair lights up and envelopes the boy, golden light like a long, drawn out angel's halo. A minute ends and the light fades. The boy's coughing fit stops and his sunken cheeks regain colour. He now sleeps with steady breathing.

"A miracle!" The woman gasps. Rapunzel untangles her hair from the boy. For the second time, she tries to get up. But the floor rises up to her face. A pair of strong arms scoops her off her feet and brings her back to bed. Her betrothed in another life lifts his hand and brushes strands of hair from her face.

"Take it easy. You need to rest," he says.

He brings a cup of hot drink to her lips. Thin chocolate. She shrinks at the heat of the liquid.

"It burns?" He asks.

He brushes her lips with the tip of his finger. She doesn't know what it means when Mother said that she and the prince are promised to each other to be married, but right now, she feels like she wants to fall into this man's arms and cry as much as she wants, till she has no more strength to cry. It is peculiar how a stranger can make her feel that way, but as Mother has told her, this man is no stranger. Somewhere in her past, they had a connection. But no way in this life that she is able to do that. Her life has been steeped in lies. And the worst thing to know that it is all a lie. If she could turn back time, she would go back to when none of these have happened. Just her and Mother and all the lies that keep everything together. The truth only hurts in every way it can hurt.

"Maybe I need something to eat," she says. The last thing she ate is that vile hazelnut soup and bits and pieces of bread.

"I'll get something for you to eat," the thief prince says and disappears.

Rapunzel musters her strength, get up and follows him. He is going to the kitchen. She sees human beings, as young as the sick boy, children they are called, running around in their bedclothes. This is a place for children, she thinks. The prince steals for these children. Why? What is wrong with the children? Where are their mothers? She sees veiled women whom the children called 'sister' but there are no mothers. Rapunzel sits on one seat at a long table. Flynn is getting something from the kitchen when one of the girls tugs his teal doublet.

"Hey, Flynn. Read us a story," she says.

"Hey, Sophie! Don't you ever get tired of the Flynnagan Rider tales?" Flynn says as he takes a bowl of broth from a large pot hanging over the stove.

"They're stories about you. We never get tired of it."

"We just share the same name. I'm much more handsome than Flynnagan Rider. And braver. Absolutely better than Flynnagan Rider in all possible aspects."

"Ewww! Gakk!" The girl Sophie makes the sound of the disgusted.

"That'll put you off Flynnagan Rider for a while," Flynn smiles. He puts the bowl of broth on the table and asks Rapunzel.

"Do you mind if the girls braid your hair? They need bedtime amusement and you don't want people stepping on your hair."

Rapunzel is thinking of getting away from Flynn Rider. Better managed hair will only help her in her escape.

"OK," she gives her consent. Flynn whistles to the girls headed by Sophie.

"I heard that you girls are really good at doing people's hair," he says.

The girls squeal with joy. After braiding the full length of Rapunzel's hair, they fold it thrice, giving the hair a new shortness that hangs just above her ankles.

"Thank you!" Rapunzel says gratefully to the children. Sister Astrid enters the kitchen and shepherds the children to their beds.

"Ahh, alone at last!" Flynn says and winks at the broth.

"Come on, eat something. You must be starving."

Slowly, Rapunzel spoons the broth into her mouth. It hurts her that Mother's cooking still tastes better than the orphanage's food. The gravity of the situation falls on her. Here he is, her intended, whose life is in jeopardy because of the simple fact that she is with him. This good man, despite his own insecurities and flaws, doesn't deserve the kind of fate waiting for him at the castle where Mother will occupy. He doesn't deserve a painful death in the hands of his uncle, the king. After emptying the bowl and feeling a lot better, Rapunzel leans closer to Flynn's face. She stares into his brown eyes.

"I know who you are, Flynn Rider."

That is not the way to speak to someone who is supposed to marry you, Rapunzel can gather that much, but she has no choice.

"What?"

"You're the prince."

"The Prince of Thieves, if that's what you mean," Flynn responds gloatingly.

"Don't go back to the castle."

"What are you talking about, Blondie?"

"Or you will die."

"You're freaking me out, Blondie. Maybe you got knocked in the head really hard. Are you sure you're OK?"

"And don't try to find me,"

"I don't know what you mean."

Flynn Rider gets up and turns away to replenish the empty bowl. Rapunzel gets up too and grabs a frying pan hanging in the pantry. One swing to the back of his head and he comes crashing to the floor, bowl, spoon and all.

"I'm sorry!" Rapunzel cries. She runs through the back door. She has tears in her eyes but she is not looking back. But she knows he will be fine. Soon, someone will find him sprawled on the floor and he'll be OK. He'll be angry but he'll be OK. Most importantly, he'll live.

This has to be done. Pascal is in Gothel's clutches. Until she finds a way to free Pascal, there is nothing she can do to help herself or the prince. She starts running into the darkness of the night. She knows that Mother is looking for her.

o-o-o-o

"What happened to you, Rider?"

The question has begun to sound like déjà vu. Hook Hand finds him like that, stripped off his pride. The Duckling thugs have just finished loading the supplies into the orphanage's storage room and has come to take him back to the Snuggly for a good night's rest, or drinking actually.

"The girl –" he moans, his head feeling like lead.

"We're breaking our backs and you're sweet-talking a girl?"

Flynn brushes Hook Hand aside. He gets on his feet and runs out to the streets. Not a hundred yards from the orphanage, he comes face to face with bedlam. There are guards everywhere. And at the centre of chaos is a cloaked woman with the girl Rapunzel in her embrace. The woman is patting the girl's head, kissing the girl's hair.

"Rapunzel!" Flynn calls out and walks on like he is summoned by an invisible power. He doesn't know how can he act beyond his instinct.

Maybe it is because the guards heard him or they saw him, but all that the Duckling thugs know next is a volley of arrows are flying through the air. Most of the arrows hit the cobblestone road but one struck into flesh.

"I hit him!"

He hears a guard's triumphant voice. And then reality strikes hard. Flynn's vision seems like he is underwater. Just how many injuries can he take in one day? He is even embarrassed to scream even though he is burnt by pain. It is Attila who sees the arrow sticking out from his left shoulder.

"Flynn's hit!"

Vladamir's large arms just pull him like he is a ragdoll. The thugs don't care how are they taking him away from the scene, but take him away him they will. The next thing he knows he is swept by the thugs who are running for their lives. They are pulling him by the shoulders one second, and next they're hauling his ass by the waist of his pants.

"Are you nuts? Those guards - they'll skin you alive," Hook Hand scolds him. "I'm even glad that YOU got hit and NOT any one of the other guys!" He curses.

"They've taken her," Flynn gasps.

"She wants to be taken, Rider! Don't you see?"

"But why?"

"The hell we know!"

"Those are the castle guards. They're taking her to the castle," Flynn is still able to talk despite of his fading consciousness.

"Guess you have to go back there and find out, don't you?"

"You bet I will," Flynn says despite the biting pain.

"How the hell are you going to attend the Lost Princess' Memorial with that kind of injury?" Hook Hand asks. Flynn can't no longer answer. He has succumbed to fatigue and pain. Before he fades out, he knows that no girl with magic hair will save him this time.

Author's Note: **An Unknown Foreign Beauty** – I heard ya! Each passing day that I don't write this thing is pain. But I get too swamped these days. **PampleMousse07** - I miss your reviews. **JadeRayne** – Love how you review each chapter. Appreciate it. **CommanderNemo** – thank you. I know you're busy with your own story. **Tebo **– I keep missing the errors. But I do rewrite when I see them. , **tb2270, Kaitlin, KaoriCarrie, boyslikegirls21, Romance and Musicals – **thank you for sticking around.


	12. Intertwined

Author's Note: How unfair it is that I kept my readers waiting for over a month! I'm so sorry. Oh well, here goes.

**Chapter Twelve: Intertwined**

"Guards! Hold your fire!" Gothel commands. Something in her is signalling there is something wrong with Flynn Rider dead. But the men didn't know that. It's always been wanted dead or alive with Flynn Rider for them.

"What did you do? What did you do?" Rapunzel cries. "You killed him! You've broken your promise! I will never say as you ask me to!" The girl screams in tears.

"Get hold of yourself, Rapunzel!" Mother Gothel seethes in disgust. "I still have your pet," Mother Gothel dangles Pascal's cage above her head.

"Please! Give him to me!" Rapunzel begs as she pulls at Mother Gothel's dress. Mother Gothel pulls away her long skirt and leaves Rapunzel on the ground, clawing like an animal.

"You'll know that you soon realise that life is simple if you don't complicate it. Take her to the castle, men!" Gothel orders.

The exertion of sadness and wailing and despairing robs her half of her soul. Rapunzel falls limp in the hands of two burly guards as they drag her into the carriage. They are heading straight to the castle. Gothel looks at the girl in annoyance. As she peers at the cowering Pascal in the sturdy cage, she sees her own hands are slowly but steadily being plagued by wrinkles. Wrinkles that creep like ivy on a stone wall. A wave of panic hits Gothel. She takes a deep breathe. She must secure Rapunzel at a new location as soon as possible and somehow give the girl enough hope to keep her alive so she can continue using her. She has the chameleon now, but how long will a chameleon live? Somehow Flynn Rider or Eugene Fizherbert is inseparable from both their destinies.

o-o-o-o

King Odious waits anxiously at the gate to the prison yard situated to the west of the castle. The gate opens and she appears. He takes her hand as she alights from her horse. He is to offer her more than his hand but the woman says coldly.

"That can wait, Odious. I need to take my prisoner to a tower."

"Why not keep her in the dungeons?" Odious asks.

"I want her to be close to me. There is no way I'm going to be in the damp and stinking dungeons when I see her."

"Why do you need to see her? A prisoner only deserves the fate of a prisoner."

"This is not a time for questions. Do as I say!" The lady, Gothel snaps. The King cowers. He can see that she is breaking under the strain of the long travel.

"The best tower I can give you, my lady."

Gothel's taut face softens.

"I'm sorry. It has been a long journey and it wasn't a smooth-sailing one. I'll see that you'll get your devotion's worth, my Lord."

The guards haul the bundle of rug that is the girl prisoner up through a winding staircase.

"May I follow, to see whether the tower suits your liking?" The King offers his generosity. But Gothel refuses vehemently.

"No. The prisoner is a creature of unfortunate curse," she warns. "It is best that you must never see her, as to avoid from her disease."

Gothel turns to the guards.

"Never let anyone but me go up these stairs from now on. These gates to the tower must be guarded securely to avoid disease from being unleashed."

As soon as the prisoner is laid down on her bed and the room is cleared, Gothel pulls a chair close to the bed. She takes out the hairbrush made of gold and starts brushing the sleeping girl's hair.

Oh, it is so like the first time they met. The princess was in her crib, sleeping. And she was holding the princess's hair as she sang. The hair glowed and the unsightly folds of her greying spotted skin faded away, replaced by dewy, smooth youthful complexion. New energy flowed through her like her soul was being renewed. But when she cut the princess's hair, its effects died as instantly as the hair lost its connection to its possessor. That was the moment when she made the decision that brought her to now, for better or worse.

"I will bring you your prince so you will stay with me forever, my flower. He will not die so you will be mine forever. You will see him live as you suffer imprisonment as long as you and I are together."

Gothel smiles. Her plan is quite brilliant, she thinks. Everyone lives, but no one's happy. Except her.


	13. A New Threat

Author's Note: I'm really touched by the response that I've been given even though I haven't been entirely focused on this endeavour. But I promise to finish this story with the kind of ending it deserves. An Unknown Foreign Beauty: I'm sorry I put you through emotional pain. I will try to do more frequent updates. PampleMousse07, Jamie Jazz, Romance andMusical, James Birdsong: Thanks so much. Sorry that you to reread a few back chapters. Icaneatpopcorn: You woke me up from my uninspired stupor.

Previously on 'A Prince To The Rescue': Flynn Rider brought Rapunzel to the orphanage where she healed a sick ward. Rapunzel told Flynn to never go back to the castle before she knocked him out and escaped. Meanwhile, the part of town was already overrun with guards under Gothel's order. Chasing the fleeing Rapunzel, Flynn came face to face with the guards and was hit by an arrow. Rapunzel is taken to a tower in Castle Elinsore. Gothel decided to prove to Rapunzel that Flynn/ Prince Eugene is still alive so Rapunzel would continue to obey her in order to save Flynn's life.

**Chapter Thirteen: A New Threat**

King Galodious observes the event unfolding before his eyes in a kind of amazement fit to describe one witnessing a miracle. He has noticed Gothel's tired, frayed look and the strands of grey hair on her temples. The woman's laugh lines are especially prominent, like a ventriloquist puppet's jaws. But when Gothel touches the sleeping girl's hair and mouthing the words of a song, the change in her is instant. The woman's hair turns jet black and springs out full-bodied. The ventriloquist puppet's jaw lines disappear, her skin turns smooth like marble and she becomes fully renewed, like a limp rose put in water.

So, that is the secret of Gothel's prisoner. In his heart, he is hoping that Gothel will share her secret, in time. But for now, he is content to be revealed to the secret by the keyhole to the tower's locked door. Of course, the guard let him in. But the only thing standing between the girl's magical hair and his desire for eternity is Gothel. He desires her. She is his equal. But will they both be equal after this revelation?

Something creeps into Galodious' heart. It is the same feeling he felt when he sees his brother's happiness, surrounded by love and wealth and power, while he rejoiced in the birth of his prince, who would succeed his kingdom. It is the feeling of taking action, taking matters into his own hands rather than waiting for things to happen.

Gothel touches the girl's hair and she becomes youthful. What if he took the girl and possessed her body? What if he put his lips to her mouth and tasted her juice? What if she violated her and took in all her essence? What will happen to him? Will he gain immortality? He is confident that will be the case. There is no other way to find out but to try it himself.

Galodius retreats his one eye from the keyhole, the glint of his eyes like a snake's as he backs away from the door. He ascends the winding stairs to the lower ground, exits the gates and has them locked behind him. One of his courtiers are advancing toward him in great urgency.

"My Lord, please inspect the final preparations for the Lost Princess' Memorial," the man says. Galodius harrumphs his way to the yards, his mind fully occupied with plans.

"Where is Prince Eugene?" He asks.

"He is yet to return to the Castle."

"The Coronans are to see the kind of foolery that I have to go through to run this kingdom," he moans.

"It is pitiful, my Lord."

"The fool has no idea how important this is."

"No, he doesn't."

"That is why I love him so much."

Life is perfect for Galodious. He has the symbolic object for benevolence in the form of the former Crown Prince Eugene. He has a mad wife who will serve to be his legitimate connection to the throne. And he has the source of eternal life right in the form of a vulnerable young girl, right in his castle. Nothing is going to ruin this charmed perfection.

P/S: Sorry for the short chapter. Yes, you can guess it. The climax is coming.


	14. A Sea of Troubles

**Chapter Fourteen: A Sea of Troubles**

"Save me, Eugene!" A voice calls out to him. The voice belongs to the girl with brilliant green eyes and golden long hair. She is standing on the edge of the castle battlement and the wind is whipping her hair about her ankles. He tries moving towards her but it is like swimming in quicksand. When he finally reaches her, her face has changed to be one that resembles his mother, gaunt, eyes staring blankly ahead.

"Save me, Eugene," the old queen says.

"Mother!" He tries grabbing her hand and instead the hand that held him are grey hands that belong to sneering faces and the whispering voices. He can hear the words thrown freely at him even as he walks among the crowd, open and breathing.

"Don't leave!" They beg.

He's too much of a fool to realize that he is a coward.

What you don't know won't hurt you, he keeps saying to himself.

They are wrong. It is hurting him. It haunts him every moment he has, in his waking hours and in his sleep. In troubled dreams that end with terrorising nightmares.

The sneering faces and their whispering voices extend their thin, bony, grey arms and all are clamouring for him. They get caught of him and start to pull him into their thorny embrace. The temptation to give up and surrender is overpowering.

"Wake up, Rider! Wake up!"

He can't breathe. He gasps and struggles for air. And with that, the spell of the pull into oblivion is broken.

It seems that in the attempt to wake him from his extended sojourn of the mind, one the Duckling thugs has thrown a bucketful of water onto his face. Some of it has gone to his nose and lungs and make him retching for air. He is coughing and spluttering, instantly pulling himself up from his bed, fully awake.

"Are you trying to drown me?" He sputtered to full consciousness.

"Yes we are," says a man who's standing arms akimbo in front of him. The man has a sharp appendage in place of his hand.

"What's the rush, Hook Hand?" Flynn asks.

"The Lost Princess's Memorial is beginning in a few hours," Hook Hand reminds him anxiously.

"Oh crap! How long have I been asleep?"

"The whole of yesterday and you kinda slip in and out today."

Flynn gets on his feet and the floor seems to rise up to his face. Vladamir holds his shoulders in his large hands.

"Sorry to wake you but we kinda think that you not attending the Lost Princess's Memorial will be dangerous to you."

"So you admit it, you care for me?" Flynn winks at them.

"Come on, git!" Vladimir slaps him on the back to make sure that blood starts flowing in his body.

"I need a guard's uniform," Flynn requests. Hook Hand throws a pack at him.

"I guess you would."

"Thanks, guys."

There is an awkward silence as Flynn slings the pack onto his back. The thugs are reluctant to say anything, and it is as if they are waiting for him to say something. The silence is deafening. Flynn gives in.

"Whatever happens, the Duckling thugs must go on."

The words come out as cheesy as he thought they would be but there is no other way of doing it.

"Nothing's gonna happen, Rider," Hook Hand says, in true Duckling thugs fashion.

"Let's just hope so."

As Flynn is trying to get on the horse he feels that his shoulder weighs him down like lead. But it is nothing he hasn't felt before. He tries swinging his right arm freely and is able to do so with his jaws clenched. But there are worse injuries, he muses half gratefully.

"Yah!" He yells to the horse and their journey starts. The sun is on its halfway mark in its celestial path in the evening sky. If nothing goes wrong, he will reach the castle just before sundown. He wishes that the Duckling thugs had woken him up sooner. Or is that what they had been trying all day long? And if they had, will he still make the choice to attend the Lost Princess's Memorial as someone else instead of Prince Eugene? Or will he abandon the search for the girl with golden hair and green eyes for the safety of his masquerade as Prince Eugene? As he rides, he is still thinking about the choices that he has.

o-o-o-o

King Marke and Queen Ygraine of Corona watch from the balcony of the guest chamber. Without a word, their eyes scan the palace ground that has started receiving the visit of its people. They are the common people of Kingdom Elinsore who share their neighbours' sadness. In their hands, are lightweight contraptions made of paper and matches. There are vendors selling refreshments and lanterns for those who came unprepared, but the noise of the crowd is low, respectful of their guests' lament.

"I wish they didn't have to do this," King Marke says in a low voice.

"One last time, dear. One last time."

"And the Royal Guards failed to bring the crown. The damn thief. I can't believe they fell for his trick."

"The crown lost its meaning when we lost our daughter. "

"They should've caught the thief the very first time rumours about his existence surfaces, then this won't happen."

"You want to spread the blame, Marke? There's plenty to go around. You might as well stop."

"Sorry."

"Besides, one of the rumours I heard is that Flynn Rider steals from the rich and give the loot to the poor. "

"And you believe that?"

"I don't know. I guess I want to believe it. It's comforting to know that the gift meant for our daughter is given to those who are in need instead of being an exhibit that reminds us of our sorrow, forever."

"If you think of it that way, yes. It is a little bit comforting," King Marke sighs.

Together, they watch the sun sinks closer to the horizon.


End file.
